Communication device for children

ABSTRACT

A system including one or more communication devices that can be used by children to play games, send messages, and talk with each other. The communication devices contain all of the needed circuitry and do not rely upon a separate communication network or system, thereby simplifying communications between the devices.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a communication device for children,and in particular, to a communication device that can be paired withanother similar communication device to provide a controlled environmentfor communications.

BACKGROUND

Conventional communication devices, such as phones, are utilized byusers to communicate with each other. Often, such communication devicesenable users to send messages back and forth and facilitateconversations between them. Such communication devices often can be usedto access the Internet, which can be problematic for children.

There is a need for a communication device for children that operates ina controlled environment, which provides safety and avoids unintendedoperations. There is also a need for a communication device for childrenthat facilitates easy and fun messaging between devices, whether themessages are voice messages or emoji messages.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates to a communication system that includes afirst communication device including a first display configured todisplay a first user interface, and a first wireless communicationsinterface, and a second communication device including a second displayconfigured to display a second user interface, and a second wirelesscommunications interface, wherein the first communication device and thesecond communication device are pairable to allow the firstcommunication device and the second communication device to communicateover a short-range wireless network via the first and second wirelesscommunications interfaces, and each of the first and second userinterfaces s includes a plurality of function buttons associated withcalling and messaging functions, and a plurality of emoji buttonsassociated with building emoji-based messages and playing emoji-basedgames.

In one embodiment, the short-range wireless network is a closed accessnetwork in which the first communication device and the secondcommunication device can communicate only with each other and cannotcommunicate with any non-paired external devices. In another embodiment,the plurality of function buttons for each of the first and second userinterfaces includes a call button that is selectable to send and receivelive two-way voice calls, a send message button that is selectable totransmit voice messages and emoji messages, a record voice button thatis selectable to record the voice messages, and a check message buttonthat is selectable to play an available voice message or view anavailable emoji message. In addition, each of the first and second userinterfaces further includes an interactive view window including atoolbar configured to display notification icons, an animationcorresponding to a current emoji selected by a first user or a seconduser, and an emoji tracker. Also, wherein each emoji tracker is a visualindicator that is configured to indicate a predetermined number of emojislots allowed in an emoji message, to identify which of the emoji slotsare filled and empty as the user presses emoji buttons to build asequence of emojis, and to track a position of the current emoji that isdisplayed in the interactive view window within the sequence of emojis.

In one embodiment, the plurality of function buttons of the first andsecond user interfaces further includes a play games button, and inresponse to receiving user input pressing the play games button, thefirst and second communication devices are configured to automaticallydisplay a single player emoji-based game if the user input pressing theplay games button is received while the other one of the first andsecond communication devices is powered off/asleep or outside athreshold distance, display single player and multi-player emoji-basedgames if the user input pressing the play games button is received whileboth the first and second communication devices are powered on/awake andwithin the threshold distance from each other, or automatically displaya multi-player emoji-based game if the user input pressing the playgames button is received while the first and second communicationdevices are currently connected on a voice call.

In another embodiment, when the first communication device and thesecond communication device are both powered on/awake and within athreshold distance from each other, and a first user of the firstcommunication device and a second user of the second communicationdevice are both present/currently active the first communication devicetransmits an emoji message to the second communication device, displaysa sequence of animated emojis from the emoji message in the first userinterface on the first display, and displays a notification indicatingthat the emoji message was delivered successfully to the secondcommunication device, and the second communication device receives theemoji message from the first communication device, and displays a promptindicating that the second user can view the received emoji message inthe second user interface on the second display.

In one embodiment, when the first communication device and the secondcommunication device are both powered on/awake and within a thresholddistance from each other, and a first user of the first communicationdevice and a second user of the second communication device are bothpresent/currently active the first communication device places a voicecall to the second communication device, displays a notification thatthe voice call is connected for live two-way interaction if the seconduser accepts the voice call via the second communication device, oroutputs a prompt to leave a voicemail if the second user did not answerthe voice call, and the second communication device displays a prompt toaccept the voice call incoming from the first communication device,displays a notification indicating a missed call if the second user didnot answer the voice.

In one embodiment, when the first communication device and the secondcommunication device are both powered on/awake and within a thresholddistance from each other, and a first user of the first communicationdevice is present/currently active but a second user of the secondcommunication device is absent/inactive the first communication devicetransmits an emoji message to the second communication device, displaysa sequence of animated emojis from the emoji message in the first userinterface on the first display, and displays a notification indicatingthat the emoji message was delivered successfully to the secondcommunication device, and the second device receives the emoji messagefrom the first communication device, stores the received emoji messagein a memory of the second communication device, and displays anotification indicating that the emoji message has been received in thesecond user interface on the second display.

In one embodiment, when the first communication device and the secondcommunication device are both powered on/awake and within a thresholddistance from each other, and a first user of the first communicationdevice is present/currently active but a second user of the secondcommunication device is absent/inactive the first communication deviceplaces a voice call to the second communication device, and outputs aprompt to leave a voicemail if the second user did not answer the voicecall via the second communication device, and the second communicationdevice displays a prompt to accept the voice call incoming from thefirst communication device, displays a notification indicating a missedcall if the second user did not answer the voice call.

In another embodiment, when the first communication device is poweredon/awake but the second communication device is powered off/asleep oroutside a threshold distance the first communication device attempts totransmit an emoji message to the second communication device, displays asequence of emojis from the emoji message in the first user interface onthe first display, and displays an error message indicating thatdelivery of the emoji message to the second communication device failed,wherein the error message includes a warning that the secondcommunication device must be powered on/awake and within a thresholddistance from the first communication device to allow the firstcommunication device to communicate with the second device over theshort-range wireless network, and the second communication device cannotreceive and store the emoji message while the second communicationdevice is powered off/asleep or outside a threshold distance, and doesnot display any notification relating to the emoji message once thesecond communication device is powered on/awake.

In yet another embodiment, when the first communication device ispowered on/awake but the second device is powered off/asleep or outsidea threshold distance the first communication device attempts to place avoice call to the second communication device, and displays an errormessage indicating that the voice call cannot be connected with thesecond device, wherein the error message includes a warning that thesecond communication device must be powered on/awake and within athreshold distance from the first communication device to communicatewith the second communication device over the short-range wirelessnetwork, and the second communication device cannot receive the voicecall from the first communication device while the second communicationdevice is powered off/asleep or outside a threshold distance, and doesnot display any notification relating to the voice call once the secondcommunication device is powered on/awake.

In an alternative embodiment, the communication system includes a thirdcommunication device including a third display configured to display athird user interface, and a third wireless communications interface,wherein the third communication device is configured to perform a securepairing process to allow the third communication device to communicatewith the first communication device, the second communication device, orboth over the short-range wireless network via the third wirelesscommunications interface.

The present invention also includes another embodiment of acommunication system that includes a first communication deviceincluding a first set of buttons and a first wireless communicationsinterface, and a second communication device including a second set ofbuttons and a second wireless communications interface, wherein thefirst communication device and the second communication device arepaired in advance to allow the first communication device and the secondcommunication device to communicate exclusively over a short-rangewireless network via the first and second wireless communicationsinterfaces, each of the first and second sets of buttons includes aplurality of function buttons associated with calling and messagingfunctions, and a plurality of emoji buttons associated with buildingemoji-based messages and playing emoji-based games.

In one embodiment, the first communication device of a first user cantransmit a remote input directed to the second communication device ofthe second user over a short-range wireless network via the firstwireless communications interface, and the second wireless communicationinterface receives the remote input when the second communication deviceis powered on/awake and within a threshold distance from the firstcommunication device.

In an alternative embodiment, the short-range wireless network is aprivate peer-to-peer network in which the first communication device andthe second communication device can communicate only with each other.

In yet another embodiment, the first communication interface and thesecond communication interface enable live two-way interaction betweenthe user of the first communication device and the second user of thesecond communication device when the second communication device ispowered on/awake and within the threshold distance from the firstcommunication device, and the second user is present/currently active.

In another embodiment, the first communication device and the secondcommunication device disable communications between the secondcommunication device of the second user and the first communicationdevice of the first user when the second communication device is poweredoff/asleep or outside the threshold distance from the firstcommunication device.

The present invention also relates to an embodiment of a communicationsystem that includes a first communication device having a displayincluding a first set of buttons and a first wireless communicationsinterface, and a second communication device having a display includinga second set of buttons and a second wireless communications interface,wherein the first communication device and the second communicationdevice are paired in advance to allow the first communication device andthe second communication device to communicate exclusively over ashort-range wireless network via the first and second wirelesscommunications interfaces, each of the first and second sets of buttonsincludes a plurality of function buttons associated with calling andmessaging functions, and a plurality of emoji buttons associated withbuilding emoji-based messages and playing emoji-based games, and thefirst communication device displays one or more prompts or notificationson the display of the first communication device when the secondcommunication device is powered on/awake and within the thresholddistance from the first communication device, and the second user ispresent/currently active.

In an alternative embodiment, the display of the second communicationdevice displays a prompt to receive a remote input from the firstcommunication device when the second communication device is poweredon/awake and within the threshold distance from the first communicationdevice, and the second user is present/currently active.

The present invention also relates to an embodiment of a method ofcommunication that includes the steps of transmitting remote input froma first communication device of a first user, wherein the remote inputis directed to a second communication device of a second user, over ashort-range wireless network via a first wireless communicationsinterface of the first communication device, and when the secondcommunication device is powered on/awake and within a threshold distancefrom the first communication device, receiving the remote input at thesecond communication device over the short-range wireless network via asecond wireless communications interface of the first communicationdevice, the first communication device and the second communicationdevice are paired in advance to allow the first communication device andthe second communication device to communicate exclusively with eachother over a short-range wireless network via the first and secondwireless communications interfaces, and the first communication deviceincluding a user interface or graphic user interface (GUI), the secondcommunication device including a second GUI, wherein each of the GUIsincludes a plurality of function buttons associated with voice callingand messaging functions, and a plurality of emoji buttons.

In one embodiment, the short-range wireless network is a privatepeer-to-peer network in which the first communication device and thesecond communication device can communicate only with each other. Inaddition, the method includes enabling live two-way interaction betweenthe user of the first communication device and the second user of thesecond communication device when the second communication device ispowered on/awake and within the threshold distance from the firstcommunication device, and the second user is present/currently active.

Also, the method includes displaying one or more prompts ornotifications on the display of the first communication device or thesecond communication device when the second communication device ispowered on/awake and within the threshold distance, but the second useris absent/currently inactive. The method may also include disablingcommunications between the second communication device of the seconduser and the first communication device of the first user when thesecond communication device is powered off/asleep or outside thethreshold distance from the first communication device.

The method may also include displaying one or more prompts ornotifications on the display of the first communication device when thesecond communication device is powered on/awake and within the thresholddistance from the first communication device, and the second user ispresent/currently active, and displaying a notification on the displayof the first communication device indicating that delivery of the remoteinput from the first communication device to the second communicationdevice was successful if the remote input is an emoji message, oroutputting a prompt for the first user of the first communication deviceto leave a voicemail for the second user on the second communicationdevice if the remote input is a voice call, when the secondcommunication device is powered on/awake but the second user isabsent/currently inactive, or displaying an error message indicatingthat delivery of the remote input from the first communication device tothe second communication device failed when the second communicationdevice is powered off/asleep or outside the threshold distance from thefirst communication device, wherein the error message includes a warningthat the second communication device must be powered on/awake and withinthe threshold distance from the first communication device to allow thefirst communication device to communicate with the second communicationdevice over the short-range wireless network.

In another embodiment, the method may include displaying a prompt on thedisplay of the second communication device to receive the remote inputfrom the first communication device when the second communication deviceis powered on/awake and within the threshold distance from the firstcommunication device, and the second user is present/currently active,and storing the remote input from the first communication device on amemory of the second communication device, and displaying a notificationon the display of the second communication device indicating that theremote input has been received from the first communication device, whenthe second communication device is powered on/awake and within thethreshold distance from the first communication device, but the seconduser has been absent/currently inactive for a first period of time, orcausing the second communication device to turn off/enter a sleep statewhen the second user has been absent/inactive for a second period oftime, wherein the second communication device turns off the secondwireless communications interface when entering the sleep state suchthat the second communication device can no longer receive and track anyremote input from the first communication device while the secondcommunication device is in the sleep state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system including two communication devicesor phones, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 1A is a front view of alternative embodiments of electronic devicesaccording to the present invention.

FIGS. 1B and 1C are left and right perspective views of the electronicdevices illustrated in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a pair of communication devices that have awired connection according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a pair of communication device that have awired connection, and one of those communication devices having awireless connection with another communication device.

FIG. 3A is a front view of an embodiment of a communication deviceaccording to an example embodiment.

FIG. 3B is a front view of an embodiment of a graphic user interface ofa communication device according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 3C is a schematic view of an emoji message tracker according to anexample embodiment.

FIG. 4A is a flowchart of an exemplary try me state process according tothe present invention.

FIG. 4B is a flowchart of an exemplary power button pressed processaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 4C is a flowchart of an exemplary sleep process according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 5A is a flowchart of an exemplary set ringtone button processaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 5B is a flowchart of an exemplary emoji message creation processaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 5C is a flowchart of an exemplary emoji tracker process accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 5D is a flowchart of an exemplary record voice button processaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 5E is a flowchart of an exemplary send message button processaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 5F is a flowchart of an exemplary call phone button processaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 5G is a flowchart of an exemplary incoming call answered or call inprogress process according to the present invention.

FIG. 5H is a flowchart of an exemplary incoming emoji message receivedprocess according to the present invention.

FIG. 5I is a flowchart of an exemplary send on deck emoji or voicemailprocess according to the present invention.

FIG. 5J is a flowchart of an exemplary choose recipient processaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 5K is a flowchart of an exemplary voicemail process according tothe present invention.

FIG. 5L is a flowchart of an exemplary games button process according tothe present invention.

FIGS. 5M, 5N, and 5O are example representations of games that can beplayed on the communication devices according to the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a flowchart of an exemplary remote input process according tothe present invention.

FIG. 6B is a flowchart of an exemplary check messages button processaccording to the present invention.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are flowcharts forming an example of a remoteinteraction process according to the present invention.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are flowcharts forming an example of another remoteinteraction process according to the present invention.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts forming an example of another remoteinteraction process according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating various example components of anelectronic device for implementing the emoji phones of FIGS. 1 and1A-1C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a functional short-range communicationdevice that enables several types of communications between thatcommunication device and a similar communication device that is pairedto it. Some types of communications include voice, message, and gamecommunications. The communication device is referred to alternativelyherein as a phone or an emoji phone. In one embodiment, thecommunication device or emoji phone is part of a system that includestwo child appropriate devices.

In one embodiment, each communication device features a 1.77″ color LCDdisplay with a large panel with several emoji buttons and otherfunctional buttons. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication deviceincludes 16 emoji buttons and at least 4-6 other buttons. Thecommunication device includes at least one physical button on a side ofthe device. Multiple communication devices connect to each otherwirelessly using a short-range wireless communications interface, whichin one embodiment is ESP-Now (2.4 GHz). Children can utilize thecommunication devices to send messages to each other, play games, andtalk to each other in a manner that resembles a real mobile phone. Inone embodiment, the communication device includes a microphone thatenables children to talk and also record messages to send to each other.

Core functional features include live two-way calling (simultaneous livevoice chat without needing to press/release a button to speak/listen,like a Walkie Talkie, or hearing chirps indicating a message was sent orreceived), creating, sending, and receiving emoji messages and voicemessages, and playing single or multiplayer games. The phones will besold in sets of two that will be paired for wireless communication rightout of the box. In some embodiments, additional phones may be purchasedand paired and added to the same network. A pairing method may enableseparately purchased phones be added to the network. All of thecommunications are accomplished via internal circuitry in thecommunication devices or phones. There is no setup to a Wi-Fi network orno cellular plan needed. The devices are very portable, can take to apark or to a beach, and can be used anywhere provided that the paireddevices are within the communication range. These features as well asthe other ones described herein make the devices easy to use andkid-friendly.

Kids can play with the communication devices without the potentialdangers associated with playing with a parent's cell phone. Some ofthose dangers include dropping and damaging the phone, accessing contentintended for older audiences, and communicating with other older usersusing the phone. The communication devices of the present inventionenable children to play games, talk to friends, and send kid-appropriatemessages and communications to each other. In addition, the devices aredurable and resilient to damage from dropping.

According to the invention, the communication devices are functionalright off the shelf due to an initial wired connection that pairs two ofthe devices to each other. Kids can take a set of communication devicesthat are paired together and use them right away without performing anyset up activities, such as accessing a data plan, or connecting to Wi-Fior cellular services.

One or more communication devices can be added to the network of apaired set of communication devices. In one embodiment, a third devicecan be paired to a paired set including a first device and a seconddevice. In one embodiment, the system does not include a bump off orbump out feature when pairing a new communication device. In otherwords, when a first device is paired to a second device, and then thefirst device is paired with a third device, the second device is notunpaired automatically. As a result, the network will have three paireddevices. Additional communication devices can be connected to any pairedcommunication devices, namely, a fourth, a fifth, etc. can be paired.

Once the first two communication devices are paired initially through awired connection, to pair a third communication device, one of the firsttwo devices and the third device each has to be put into a specialpairing mode. This special pairing mode enables those devices to “see”each other and share their addresses with each other to facilitatecommunication therebetween.

In a basic mode of operation, the first device and the second devicethat are initially paired can be used by children without pairing to athird device. However, the present invention contemplates usingdifferent characteristics to identify different communication devicesthat are paired together. In various embodiments, the communicationdevices may automatically associate or assign an indicator with thedifferent devices and their users. Indicators may include a number, aletter, a color, a role, a name or other information that can be easilyremembered by a child. For example, a user of the first device canselect a first ringtone and a first color, such as blue, for one of thecommunication devices to which it is paired, and a second ringtone and asecond color, such as green, for another communication device to whichit is paired. Thus, when the child using the first device wants to senda message or talk to a parent or guardian of the child, the child canremember that the color blue is for the parent's or guardian'scommunication device. In different embodiments, the colors that can beassociated with different devices can include any color, including blue,green, yellow, and red. By using a color as an indicator for aparticular user, the play and use of the communication is simplified forchildren. In an alternative embodiment, the indicator may be selectableby a user.

In one example, when the user wants to send a message to one of thepaired communication devices, the user is asked by the user's devicewhether the user wants to send the message to the blue device or theyellow device. The user can pick the color for the particular other userto whom the communication should be delivered.

In one embodiment, a user can select the same color to representdifferent devices that are paired to the user's device. For example, theuser can select blue for one sibling of the user and blue for anothersibling of the user. When the user wants to send a message and theuser's device asks whether the message should go to the blue device orthe blue device, the message may be sent to either of the blue devices.In an alternative embodiment, when there are paired devices that areassigned the same color, such as both paired devices assigned blue, themessage could be sent to the blue device that has the strongest signal,meaning that blue device is closer to the user than the other bluedevice. In another alternative embodiment, when there are paired devicesthat are assigned the same color, such as both paired devices assignedblue, the message could be sent to the blue device with which the user'sdevice most recently communicated.

These various modes of operating when there is a color conflicteliminates the need for the child to rename or to reassign colors to theother communication devices. In other words, any potential confusion orconflict with paired devices is overcome by the programming in theuser's communication device, thereby simplifying the skills needed toplay with the device. There is no repeat pairing to communicationdevices. The user's communication device looks to see what other devicesare in the communication area and determines what colors have beenassigned to those found devices.

To de-pair from another communication device, a user may perform afactory reset on the user's communication device. In one embodiment, thefactory reset involves pressing and holding a combination of buttonssimultaneously for a period of time. The buttons to be pressed can varybased on the programming. The factory reset of a device will result inall of the pairings with other devices being erased. To subsequentlyre-pair to one or more communication devices, the user must either usethe initial wired connection or follow the pairing protocol of puttingboth devices to be paired in a special pairing mode and connecting themelectronically.

Content, art/animations, user audio recordings may be stored on a flashchip (storage may be persistent for some aspects or temporary for someother aspects). Two-channel audio allows for simultaneous speech/soundeffects and music (or equivalent). Examples of the audio includesilly/fun emoji audible sound effects (e.g., giggles, farts,vocalizations, etc.), functional phone sound effects (e.g., ringing,sending, receiving, notification feedback, musical ringtones andnotifications, startup jingle, etc.), and gameplay sound effects (e.g.,in-game noises, background music, intro/outro music, gameplay reward,error feedback, etc.).

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system 5 that includes two communicationdevices or emoji phones 10A and 10B according to an example embodimentof the invention. As shown, each phone 10A and 10B has a physical powerbutton 105 and a display 110, among other possible components andcircuitry. Various components of phones 10A and 10B area illustrated inFIG. and discussed below.

The power button 105 can be used to power the phone on and off, and isnot a hard state switch. The power button 105 may be a tactile switch onthe side of the phones 10A and 10B. The power button 105 may be used toturn the phones off to an idle mode. In one embodiment, the phone maystill turn on or wake with the pressing of another button. This featurelets a user shut off the phone or put it into sleep mode.

In the illustrated embodiment, the display 110 provides a screen displayarea where most content visuals are displayed (e.g., animating emojis,interactive games, action prompt alerts, etc.). In some exampleembodiments, the display 110 may be implemented via a 1.77″ color LCDscreen. However, in other embodiments of the invention, the display mayhave a different type of display and/or be a different screen size.There may also be state-dependent displays at top (e.g., toolbar iconsfor connectivity states, inbox messages, etc.) and bottom (e.g., emojimessage tracker used for emoji messaging) on the display.

In particular, alternative embodiments of communication devices or emojiphones are illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1C. Referring to FIG. 1A,communication devices 20A and 20B have housings 21A and 21B withdisplays 22A and 22B, respectively. The housings 21A and 21B includemylar overlays or pads 23A and 23B, respectively. Each of the mylaroverlays or pads 23A and 23B includes one or more raised buttons thatcan be pressed by a user to provide an input to the particularcommunication device. In an alternative embodiment, a capacitive touchscreen can be used instead of a mylar overlay or touch pad.

Referring to FIGS. 1B and 1C, in this embodiment, the housings 21A and21B of communication devices 20A and 20B have a single input and/orpower button 24A and 24B, respectively, on one side of the housing 21Aand 21B, and no buttons on the opposite side of the housing 21A and 21B.The programming of the communication devices can be such that anypressing of the input and/or button 24A and 24B can result in anydesired operation.

Detailed descriptions of the various emoji buttons and functionalbuttons shown in FIG. 1 , which is only an exemplary embodiment ofvarious buttons, are provided below. In addition, a more detaileddescription of various components of the phones 10A and 10B, such as aprocessor, a memory with logic, communications interfaces, input/outputdevices (e.g., display, microphone, speaker, buttons), etc. is providedas well. It is to be understood that in different embodiments, theparticular emoji buttons can vary, such as in FIGS. 1A-1C.

Turning to FIG. 2A, an exemplary connection between a first phone 10Aand a second phone 10B is illustrated. Phones 10A and 10B are pairableand/or may be paired in advance. Phones 10A and 10B may communicatethrough a wired connection (e.g., in the try-me state) or through awireless connection (e.g., during normal operation). FIG. 2B shows thata third phone 10C can be paired with the first phone, or alternativelywith the second phone 10B, in order to be added to the network formedbetween phones 10A and 10B.

FIG. 3A shows an example graphical user interface (GUI) 112 and variousfunction buttons and emoji buttons of the phones 10A and 10B of FIGS. 1and 2A-2B. In FIG. 3A, a set of emoji buttons or icons 120 is shown. Inone embodiment, each phone 10A and 10B may have sixteen emoji icons orbuttons 120 in rows/columns of four each on the face of the phone. Inthis embodiment, a first row of emoji buttons 120 includes emojis 122A,122B, 122C and 122D, a second row of emoji buttons 120 includes emojis124A, 124B, 124C and 124D, a third row of emoji buttons includes emojis126A, 126B, 126C and 126D, and a fourth row of emoji buttons 120includes emojis 128A, 128B, 128C and 128D. In other embodiments, otherquantities and types of emojis are possible. Pressing one of the emojiicons will cause the phone to show an emoji animation and start to fillup a queue of emojis in a tracker. If a send or send message button 118is then pressed, that sequence of emojis is sent to the other pairedphone. The emoji buttons are raised or domed buttons on a mylar overlayor pad. In an alternative embodiment, the emoji buttons can be providedvia a capacitive touch screen.

It should be appreciated that the drawings (e.g., FIGS. 1 and 3A) areintended to be illustrative in nature, and that example embodiments arenot limited the quantity of emojis (or rows/columns) and the specificemojis presented therein. Utilizing more or fewer emojis, and/ordifferent types of emojis, are possible, although it may be desirable toinclude several emojis with various different “faces” depicted. It isalso noted that the emojis should be fun. For example, in oneembodiment, when the user presses an emoji button, the user will see theemoji animate and the phone will generate a corresponding noise.Pressing an emoji button automatically shows the emoji and begins tobuild a new series (or further contribute to an existing series).Additional information relating to an emoji message tracker 115 isdiscussed in detail below.

FIG. 3A also shows various function buttons on the phone 10A. In thisembodiment, there are six functional buttons on the front face of thephone 10A. These buttons include a call phone button 116, a send messagebutton 118, a set ringtone button 132, a play games button 134, a recordvoice button 136, and a check messages button 138.

The “call phone” (make a call) button 116 is operable to call anotherpaired phone on the network. Each phone has a call button. When a firstchild presses the call button, the transmitting phone will attempt tocall the other phone (the other phone must be awake to receive thecall). When the receiving phone accepts the call, the first child andthe second child can talk with each other. This assumes a 1:1 live callwithout needing to push any “I'm talking now” button (like with atraditional Walkie Talkie). In some example embodiments, it is assumedthat for each user, there will only be one other person to call (in thecase of two paired phones). However, like with games, if there are anyadditional phones added/linked to the system (e.g., three or four pairedphones), there can be a subsequent choice between the other users ifneeded.

The “send message” button 118 is operable to send the “on deck” message(voice or emoji). The send button is used to send a current message tothe other phone. The transmitting phone can only send messages to otherphones that are already awake. The transmitting phone and the receivingphone can send and receive emoji messages and recorded audio messages.For example, if the user presses the send current message button 118while working on emojis, the phone will send the “on deck” emojimessage. This feature applies similarly for voice messages, as discussedbelow with reference to the record voice button 136.

The “set ringtone” button 132 is operable to listen to and change thephone's ringtone. The ringtone button allows the child to pick aringtone that plays whenever they receive a call. Also, with thisfeature, the user may be able to set the sound effects state, where thephone allows the user to toggle between silly sounds, tone sounds, orvibrate only, for example.

The “play games” button 134 is operable to start a game (1-player or2-player). The games button allows the child to pick a game to play. Ifthe user presses the start game button 134 while on a call with anotheruser, the user can play a multiplayer game with the other user on theirpaired phones. Otherwise, pressing this button may begin a single playergame by default in some example embodiments.

The “record voice” or microphone button 136 is operable to record andlisten to a voice message. The record voice button 136 allows the childto record a short message (e.g., 5-10 seconds). Once a message isrecorded, the child can send the recorded audio message to the otherpaired phone with the send button. When the child presses the recordvoice button 136, the phone will record and play back the user'srecording automatically (e.g., only once, or perhaps repeating on a loopif desired). This configuration makes the voice recording “on deck”,similar to the case of an emoji message. If the user presses the sendcurrent message button 118 after capturing a voice recording, the phonewill send the “on deck” voice message.

The “check messages” or receive mail button 138 is operable to view orlisten to one or more inbox messages. When the child presses the checkmessages button 138, the phone will display any emojis or play anyrecorded audio messages that have been received from another pairedphone, but that the child has not viewed or listened to yet.

Example embodiments are not limited to the specific locations of thefunction buttons shown in the drawings, and other arrangements are alsopossible. For example, FIG. 1 shows that the call phone button 116 andthe send message button 118 may be located at the bottom of the frontface of the phone, below the other function buttons (132, 134, 136,138). In some other example embodiments, the layout could be changed toallow for a second function button row, such as another horizontal orvertical row of function buttons.

Additionally, it is noted that buttons 116, 118, 136, and 138 (relatingto calls and messages) may be considered primary features related tocore functionality of the phones, whereas buttons 132 and 134 (relatingto ringtones and games) may be considered secondary features that areless critical and may be optional in different example embodiments.

Optionally, although not shown in the drawings, some other buttons mayalso be included on the phones, such as a physical volume switch orup/down buttons to raise and lower volume (possibly used to switchbetween default volume to sound-based “vibrate”), and/or physicalup/down ringtone buttons to cycle up/down through a list to choose fromavailable ringtones (may also be used in sub-selection states, such asselecting other users/phones in the case of more than two paired phones,and/or selecting games, for example).

The use of the power button 105, the display screen 110, the emojibuttons 120, and each of these function buttons (e.g., buttons 116, 118,132, 134, 136, 138) during normal play operation will be described infurther detail below.

Referring back to FIGS. 1A-1C, the various emoji buttons and thelocation of the functional buttons on the front face can vary. As shown,the particular locations of the call phone button, send message button,set ringtone button, play games button, record voice button, and checkmessages button vary relative to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3A.Also, devices 20A and 20B include flashlight function buttons 30A and30B, respectively, that can be pressed by a user to turn on a lightsource on the device 20A or 20B. In addition, the emojis may includeanimal emojis and other emojis as well.

FIG. 3B shows a detailed view of an embodiment of the GUI 112, which mayinclude a notification toolbar 114 and an emoji 113. The toolbar 114 mayinclude various toolbar notification icons, including but not limitedto, an incoming call icon 114A, a call in progress icon (not shown inFIG. 3B), an emoji message received icon 114B, a voice message receivedicon 114C, and a missed call icon 114D. In some example embodiments,multiple messages or calls can be tracked, with a corresponding numberdisplayed adjacent to the respective notification icon 114B, 114C,and/or 114D.

Notifications in the toolbar 114 will often be paired with images on themain screen. For example, when there is an incoming call, the toolbarwill display the incoming call icon, and the main display will show apulsing image of the button that the user needs to press to answer thecall. Some notifications may not need to be on the toolbar 114, andwould only be displayed in the main screen space. For example, if afirst user or sender tries to make a call, or send an emoji message orvoice message, and the second user or recipient does not answer or therecipient's phone is off, such that the second user cannot receive themessage, the first user will get a notification in the moment. Forexample, the notifications may include a “no answer” or a “message notreceived” animated display. FIG. 3B also shows an embodiment of an emoji113 and a message tracker 115.

FIG. 3C is a diagram showing operation of the emoji message tracker 115of FIG. 3B. Referring to FIGS. 3B and 3C, as the user selects emojis,circles or slots in the tracker are automatically filled in. The firstrow of circles illustrated in FIG. 3C includes eight empty circles 115A.As the user selects emojis, the circles are filled in from left to right(such as 115B). The current circle 115C corresponds to the emoji shownon-screen, and either blinks or has a distinction to show the currentposition (e.g., the white dot inside the filled and colored circle inFIG. 3C). After a user fills the tracker bar, the cursor then eithercycles around to start replacing emojis in the tracker from the start(left side), or else continues to add to the chain (in which case, theprevious first emoji may be deleted). In this example, a fixed maximumnumber of eight emojis per message is assumed, although some otherexample embodiments are not so limited and may have a different numberof circles corresponding to the maximum emojis threshold (e.g., six,ten, or other quantity).

In the second row, the user has pressed a first emoji. In the third row,the user has pressed a fifth emoji. In the fourth row, the user haspressed an eighth emoji (filling the last circle). In the fifth row ofthe example shown in FIG. 3C, the user has written over the first fourcircles again, and currently sits in the fourth position. The currentcircle or position can be identified with a visual indicator in the GUI.For example, this visual indicator may be a dot, can be a differentcolor, or could be blinking, or some combination thereof, in order todistinguish the current circle/position 115C from the othercircles/positions. Other visual indicators are also possible.

When the user presses the “send message” button 118, the phone willattempt to send all of the emojis tracked in the emoji message tracker115 to the recipient, cycling through the sender's screen for viewing asthey are sent. In some example embodiments, the emoji tracker dots blinkalong as the corresponding emojis are shown.

More specific details associated with the functionality of the phonesand various operations that occur in response to different buttonpresses and statuses are described below.

One exemplary process of a phone according to the present invention isillustrated in FIG. 4A. This process 210 can be referred to as a try mesleep flow play design. In some embodiments, the phone may include aphysical or keyed switch that can be used to toggle to and from a try mestate of operation. While the phones are in their packaging, they areconnected via a wire or cable. This wired connection allows the phonesto communicate with each other to demonstrate their operation andfunctions while still achieving desired battery life. When one phone isactivated in its try-me mode, that phone will send a signal to wake upthe other connected phone via the wired connection. Each try-meactivation will be short in length (e.g., about 6 seconds). Wirelessconnections are turned off in the try-me operation process and allcommunications between the phones occurs through the cable. When abutton is pressed on one phone, it may also wake up the other phone viathe cable. In addition, the wireless connection between two pairedphones in a package can also be tested. This pairing of two phones canbe performed at the time of manufacturing (e.g., at the factory on theproduction line).

Various data can be gathered and stored on memory (e.g., Flash),including but not limited to, the number of times buttons are pressed intry-me, how many emoji messages are sent (and which emojis were used),how many games played (and which games), how many phone calls started,how long were phone calls, and the like. This stored data can beaccessed and viewed on the LCD screen of the phone. For example, adefined button sequence (e.g., a certain pattern/order/combination ofbuttons) could be used to display this information on the LCD of thephone.

Referring to FIG. 4A, a try me state process or method 210 according toone embodiment is illustrated. Initially, both phones are asleep in asleep state with displays off at step 211. When a wake event occurs(e.g., a button press on either phone) at step 212, both phones wakesimultaneously at step 213, with their displays turning on in an awakestate. Both phones will keep each other awake in the try me state whileactivity is occurring. At step 214, a determination is made regardingwhether there has been any phone activity (such as a button press)within a first threshold period of time, which in one embodiment is inthe last three seconds. If so (Yes at step 214), the display will remainon with normal brightness at step 215, and the phone process loops backto step 214. If not (No at step 214), a determination is made regardingwhether there has been any phone activity within a second thresholdperiod of time, which in this embodiment is in the last six seconds, atstep 216. If so (Yes at step 216), the display will be dimmed at step217, and loop back to step 216. If not (No at step 216), both phoneswill then go to sleep (displays turn off) at step 218, and return totheir sleep states (step 211). The try me state is intended to be asclose to actual phone use as possible, but with a much shorter activitycycle and a shorter time until the sleep mode is entered. Certainfeatures (such as placing and receiving a live call) may be restrictedin try me mode.

A user can interact with one phone, or with a second user through remoteinteraction between two paired phones. For two phones to interactremotely, both need to be within range of one another and powered on andawake, which means they are within the timing of at least five minutessince the last local input. In one embodiment, the desired range ordistance between communication devices in an open air setting up toapproximately 100 meters. However, in a different setting, such asinside a home or other structure, the signals between devices can beblocked out, resulting in an inside communication distance ofapproximately 50 feet. Users may also be able to purchase and pairadditional phones, which would allow for interaction between any twophones at a time on the same paired network.

A user presses the power button 105 to power on/wake the user's phone.In some example embodiments, other buttons may be used to wake thephone. The phone remains awake while the user is interacting with it,which is referred to as the user providing local inputs. Withoutreceiving a local input, the phone will remain awake for approximatelyfive minutes, during which time it can receive remote calls, messages,and game content from other phones on the network. Such received calls,messages and game content being referred to as remote inputs. Afterapproximately one minute without receiving a local input, the phone'sscreen will dim to conserve the phone's battery. After approximatelyfive minutes without local input, the screen will turn off as the phoneenters its sleep state.

FIG. 4B shows a flow or process of operations during normal operation ofthe phone when a power button is pressed, according to an exampleembodiment. This process 220 shows various operations of thecommunication device or phone once it is out of the try me state, when auser presses the power button 105.

At step 221, when the power button 105 is pressed, a determination ismade regarding whether the phone is awake at step 222. If the phone isnot currently awake when the power button 105 is pressed (No at step222), a determination is made regarding whether the phone pairingbuttons are being held down at step 227. For example, if the userpresses a particular combination of buttons on the phone (e.g., pressingpower button while also pressing one or more other buttons (e.g., sendmessage button, etc.)), the phone will enter a pairing mode and attemptto detect other phones on the network. In one embodiment, the phonepairing buttons are the flashlight button and the send message button.

If the phone pairing buttons are being held down (Yes at step 227), thena phone pairing operation will be attempted at step 229. At step 230, adetermination is made regarding whether any other phones are detected onthe network. If so (Yes at step 230), the phone pairing operation occursat step 232. In some example embodiments, the phone may automaticallypair with the first new found phone. Some other example embodiments mayinvolve manual confirmation to pair with a new found phone. If noawaiting phones are found (No at step 230), the phone pairing operationwill timeout at step 231 (e.g., the phone will only look for otherphones on the network to pair with for a limited time). In some exampleembodiments, an already-paired phone may be ignored for purposes of thepairing operation. In either case (upon successful pairing, or after thetimeout period expires), the phone will then display the home screen(described below) at step 233.

If the phone pairing buttons are not being held down (e.g., the powerbutton was pressed, but not in combination with the other designatedpairing buttons) (No at step 227), then the phone will be powered on atstep 228. Once powered on, the phone will display the home screen atstep 233.

Returning to step 222, if the phone is already awake when the powerbutton is pressed (Yes at step 222), a determination is made regardingwhether the display is currently on the home screen at step 223. If so(Yes at 223), then the phone will be powered off at step 224, and willenter the sleep state at step 225. If the display is not currently onthe home screen (No at step 223), the phone will stop powering off thephone at step 226, and will display the home screen at step 233. Thus,when the phone is already powered on and is currently awake, the powerbutton can be used to exit any sub-state (e.g., games, emojis, voicerecording, etc.) and return to the main screen, instead of powering offthe phone and entering the sleep state. After arriving at the homescreen, pressing the power button again will proceed to power off thephone, thereby allowing it to go to sleep.

The home screen referred to above is a main screen that provides accessto various features of the emoji phone, such as emoji message (inbox),voice message (inbox), missed call, missed game invite, etc. The homescreen may have a persistent toolbar display at the top of the screenthat shows this information. The toolbar may be present on some screens,but not all screens (the toolbar may be hidden for games, record voice,incoming messages, and sending message replays, for example). The homescreen's background uses the user-defined ringtone appearance in termsof color, pattern, etc.

In one embodiment, in a normal play design, whenever a phone isactivated, the LCD will turn on with backlight. The wireless receivershould turn on so that the phone can receive emojis, messages, and/orcalls. If the phone is inactive for a first period of time T1 (a shortduration, e.g., one minute, etc.), the backlight should turn off,whereas the wireless receiver should remain on. If the phone remainsinactive for a second period of time T2 (a slightly longer duration,e.g., four minutes, etc.), then the wireless receiver should turn off(e.g., in order to save battery). After the second period of time T2 haselapsed, the phone will need to be turned back on to once again be ableto receive emojis, audio messages, and/or calls from other phones.

Thus, both phones (the transmitting phone and the receiving phone) needto be awake to send emojis, messages, or calls to each other. If a phoneis inactive for a threshold period of time (e.g., threshold=T1+T2, orfive minutes in the above example), that phone will go to sleep and canno longer receive emojis, messages, or calls from other phones.

Missed call notifications and messages received before a phone fallsasleep are stored and can be seen or accessed when the phone gets wokenup again. A sleeping phone will not receive or track any content sent toit from another phone when it is not awake; this is primarily toconserve battery life. If a user attempts to call or message anotherphone when the recipient phone is not awake, the sending phone willreceive an indication that the call or message did not go throughsuccessfully and display a visual indicator that the recipient phonemust be powered on for 2-way communication.

Referring to FIG. 4C, an exemplary sleep flow process 240 out of a liveconnection state (e.g., call, game, etc.) for a communication deviceaccording to an example embodiment is illustrated. Here, the phone iscurrently awake (display is on in wake state), at step 241. The phonestays awake during normal operation while activity is occurring (similarto the try me state described above, but with a longer sleep cycle),where activity implies a local input or a live connection. At step 242,a determination is made regarding whether there has been any phoneactivity within a first threshold period of time (in one embodiment,this period of time is one minute). If so (Yes at step 242), the displaywill remain on with normal brightness at step 243, and loop back to step242. If not (No at step 242), a determination is made regarding whetherthere has been any phone activity within a second threshold period oftime (in one embodiment, this period of time is five minutes), at step244. If so (Yes at step 244), the display will be dimmed at step 245,and loop back to step 244. If not (No at step 244), the phone will thengo to sleep (display turns off) at step 246 and at step 247. If a wakeevent occurs (e.g., button press) at step 248, the phone will thenreturn to the wake state (display turns on) at step 241.

In the illustrated embodiment, the phone comes with a variety ofringtones that can be heard and set by pressing the set ringtone button132. Ringtones include a range of traditional and fun sounding “rings”from things like classic telephone rings to more modern melodies andnature sounds, etc. Pressing this button allows a user to hear a shortsample of the currently set ringtone. Ringtones are likely one or moresmall loops that comprise a longer form ringtone, so these should bereasonably short, approximately two to four seconds. Subsequent presseswithin a short window of time, such as one second, will step through alinear list of the phone's available ringtones, looping back to thestart in the same linear sequence. When a user hears a ringtone theylike, they stops pressing the button to establish that particular astheir phone's new ringtone.

FIG. 5A shows a flow 310 of operations when a set ringtone button ispressed, according to an example embodiment. Users set their phone'sringtone using the set ringtone button 132. This action may alsoestablish an associated icon to be used for the phone for identificationamongst multiple possible recipients.

When the set ringtone button is pressed at step 311, the first ringtonethat plays is the ringtone currently assigned to the phone. In addition,the visual identity (color/pattern) unique to this particular ringtoneis displayed. During ringtone selection, at step 312, each ringtone onlyplays for a short defined duration, such as three to five seconds. Atstep 313, a determination is made regarding whether the ringtone playedfor its full selection duration. If not (No at step 313), and theringtone button is pressed before the currently playing ringtonecompleted (Yes at step 314), then the phone will cycle the ringtone atstep 315, and loop back to step 312. Thus, subsequent presses of theringtone button cycle through the ringtone playlist linearly.

If the ringtone plays for its full duration (Yes at step 313), and/or ifthe ringtone button was not pressed again before the currently playingringtone completed (No at step 314), then the ringtone will be assignedas the current ringtone of the phone at step 316. In some exampleembodiments, the phone will then return to the home screen (step 317)once a ringtone has been assigned, or when the user presses the powerbutton, for example.

Turning to FIG. 5B, the creation of an emoji message using thecommunication device is discussed. Users can entertain themselvesplaying with emojis (i.e., building emoji messages) by pressing any ofthe sixteen emoji buttons 120. Pressing an emoji button displays a fullscreen animated version of the selected emoji with its accompanyingsound effects (such as a laughing emoji with an animating mouth andgiggle sound effects). Pressing multiple emoji buttons in a sequencewill present emoji after emoji in the full screen display area, eachemoji replacing the previous emoji with a simple transition, as theyshowcase their individual animations and accompanying sound effects.Users do not need to send these emojis to anyone; they can do this foras long as they like on their device. However, if users wish to sendemojis, the following description relates to how they build theirmessage according to the invention.

FIG. 5B shows a flow 320 of operations when an emoji button is pressed,and creation of an emoji message, according to an example embodiment.Users can play around with the emoji buttons 120. This activates theemoji tracker 115 (refer to FIGS. 3B-3C), which functions as an overlay.Users can also use the send message button 118 to try and send an emojimessage to another phone.

When one or more of the emoji buttons (e.g., 01-16) is/are pressed atstep 321, the emoji or emojis will appear on the display in various ways(step 322). If a first period of time (e.g., approximately 0.75 seconds)has elapsed with no input (Yes at step 323), then a determination ismade at step 325 whether this emoji has been animated since it appeared.If an input is received during the first period of time at step 323 (Noat step 323), then the device proceeds to the corresponding input instep 324.

Returning to step 325, if this emoji has not yet been animated (No atstep 325), then the animated emoji will be displayed (animated“showboat” image with corresponding sound effects) (step 326) and theprocess returns to step 323. If this emoji has already been animatedbefore (Yes at step 325), and a second period of time (e.g.,approximately 3.5 seconds) has elapsed since the last input (Yes at step327), then a determination is made whether the animated (showboat) emojiand a corresponding still (idle) emoji have both played since this emojiappeared at step 328. If the still (idle) emoji has not yet played sincethis emoji appeared (No at step 328), then the still (idle) emoji willbe displayed (still “idle” image, with or without sound effects) at step329 and the process returns to step 323.

In some example embodiments, after both the animated/showboat emoji andthe still/idle emoji have played/been displayed since this emojiappeared (Yes at step 328), the phone will then pseudo randomly select astarting point in the playlist of emojis and cycle through this listlinearly, playing each animated/showboat emoji and sound effects and/ordisplaying each still/idle emoji at spaced intervals of a short definedduration (e.g., 2.5 to 7 seconds) until user input is received (step330) and the process returns to step 323. Shuffling the display in“random” time intervals in this manner helps to make the emoji messagefeel “alive” as the user interacts with the phone. Returning to step327, if the process determines No at step 327, then it returns to step323.

As emoji buttons 120 are pressed, an emoji message tracker 115 isdisplayed along the bottom of the screen. The emoji message tracker 115is a visual indicator that represents the series of emojis beingcreated, which is useful if the user intends to send them as a message.This tracker indicates (1) the number of emoji slots allowed in amessage, (2) which slots are filled, and (3) the currently displayedemoji's location within the sequence. In this illustrated embodiment,there is not the scenario where the user presses an emoji button and thescreen won't display that emoji because the slots are full. Instead, ifthe user has reached the maximum amount of emojis for the message andpresses an emoji button, the tracker's “current location” can either (A)loop around to first position to begin overwriting previously createdemojis from the beginning, or (B) remain at the ending location andbegin erasing the emojis at the start of the sequence as each additionalemoji gets added. This may call for an additional graphic on thetracker, i.e. (4) the deletion of the first emoji in the series as eachnew one gets created.

FIG. 5C shows an exemplary emoji tracker flow 340 when one or moreemojis are placed, according to an example embodiment. When one or moreof the emoji buttons (e.g., 01-16) is/are pressed at step 341, adetermination is made in step 342 whether this is the first emoji inthis potential series. If so (Yes at step 342), the emoji tracker 115appears in the display (step 343). If this is not the first emoji (inother words, adding another emoji to an existing series) (No at step342), a determination is made whether all slots on the tracker 115 arefull at step 344. While in this embodiment the tracker 115 includeseight slots or circles, the tracker 115 can have a different quantity ofcircles in other embodiments. If the tracker 115 is not full (No at step344), the first open slot will be filled with the current emoji (fillsfrom left to right) at step 345. If the Tracker is full (Yes at step344), the phone will remove the far left emoji in the tracker 115 andrefresh the far left slot at step 351, and refresh the far right slot atstep 352. In some example embodiments, the current slot be identified onthe display with a visual indicator, such as a slow and subtle pulse, atstep 346.

In some example embodiments, when the phone attempts to send an emojimessage in response to a user input, a determination is made whether theemoji message was successfully sent at step 347. If so (Yes at step347), then the phone displays a visual indicator (e.g., fast pulseslots) simultaneous with individual emojis during send display at step348. After this replay of the emoji message, the emoji trackerdisappears from the display and the phone transitions back to the homescreen at step 349.

Returning to step 347, if the attempt to send the emoji message wasunsuccessful (No at step 347), then the phone will display an“unsuccessful send” notification. In some example embodiments, the emojistate 350 and its tracker are reset when the state 350 is abandoned andafter a message is successfully sent, whereas unsuccessful sends willretain the emoji state and its tracker and return to the populated stateafter displaying the “unsuccessful send” notification.

Another operation of the communication device is now discussed. Userscan record and listen to their voice recording, and then send it as avoice message. In the illustrated embodiment, to create and send voicemessages, the user can press the record voice button 136 to record afive-second audio recording. The length of the recording can vary indifferent embodiments. Pressing button 136 begins a recording functionof the device, which includes displaying a full screen metered recordinganimation with audible sound effects, such as a beep, at the start andthe end of the recording period to demonstrate the recording's duration.After a recording takes place, it plays back automatically with ametered playback visual so the user can listen to what was recorded.Like playing with the emoji buttons, users can simply have fun makingrecordings and listening to their recordings played back, withoutsending them to anyone.

FIG. 5D shows a flow 360 of operations when a record voice button ispressed, and voice message creation, according to an example embodiment.Users can record their voice and listen to their voice recording usingthe record voice button 136 (step 361). Users can also send their voicerecording as a voice message.

If there is no recording currently in progress (No at step 362), and therecord voice button is pressed at step 361, the phone will startrecording at step 363. In some example embodiments, if the record voicebutton is pressed again before recording start finishes (Yes at step364), then the phone will abort the voice recording at step 370, andreturn to the home screen at step 371. Returning to step 364, if therecord voice button is not pressed again, the recording continues (step365).

In some other example embodiments, at step 366 if the record voicebutton (or call phone button, or send message button) is pressed whilerecording is in progress before the full recording in progress duration(Yes at step 366), the phone will stop the recording at step 367.Likewise, if there is a recording currently in progress when the recordvoice button is pressed (Yes at step 362), then the phone stops therecording (do not record for full duration) at step 367. Alternatively,if the record voice button is not pressed (No at step 366), then therecording stops at the predetermined length of time.

After the phone stops recording (upon completion of the full recordingin progress duration, or in response to the user pressing the recordvoice button or another button to end the recording) (step 368), thephone will playback the voice recording (step 369). In some exampleembodiments, voice recordings may be limited to a defined short duration(e.g., five seconds, ten seconds) to conserve memory resources andbattery. After this replay of the voice recording, the phone maytransition back to the home screen at step 371 (automatically, or inresponse to user pressing power button, for example).

Turning to another exemplary process of the communication device, theprocess relating to the send message button and the step of sending an“on deck” emoji or voice message is now described with reference to FIG.5E. To send a voice message or an emoji message to a paired phone, auser creates a voice message or an emoji message and presses the sendmessage button 118. Functional details about voice and emoji messagesare described herein. As noted above, with just two phones on thenetwork, the phone will automatically send the created message to theonly other phone with which it is paired, with a sub-selection methodrequired when there are three or more phones in a paired network.

Once an emoji button has been pressed, it is considered a potentialemoji message that is “on deck” and ready to be sent. To send the “ondeck” emoji message to a recipient's phone, a user simply presses thesend message button 118. There is no special step required to turn “justplaying with emojis” into an “emoji message” beyond pressing this sendbutton. Note that if there are more than one other possible recipientphones on the network, an additional sub-selection method will berequired to determine which phone is to receive a message. An emojimessage will have a finite amount of emojis that can be sent at a time.A user can play with emojis all they want and is not restricted to howmany emojis get can be displayed while they are playing with them, butwhen the emojis get sent, only up to eight will be transmitted. In otherembodiment, this quantity can vary.

When a user sends an emoji message, the series of emojis being sent willbe displayed in sequence along with their animations and sound effects;and this is the same message that will be received by the recipient'sphone. If both phones are awake and in range of one another, the sendingphone will indicate that the message was sent successfully. If therecipient's phone was not in range or awake at the time the message wassent, the sending phone will receive an indicator that the message wasnot delivered successfully.

In a similar manner, after a voice recording has been made, it isconsidered a potential voice message that is “on deck” and ready to besent. To send the “on deck” voice message to a recipient's phone, a usersimply presses the send message button 118. This works the same way asemoji messages. Again, if there are more than one other possiblerecipient phones on the network, an additional sub-selection method willbe required to determine which phone is being messaged.

When a user sends a voice message, the message will replay with ametered playback visual as it gets sent; this is the same message thatwill be received by the recipient's phone. If both phones are awake andin range of one another, the sending phone will indicate that themessage was sent successfully. If the recipient's phone was not in rangeor awake at the time the message was sent, the sending phone willreceive an indicator that the message was not delivered successfully.

Referring to FIG. 5E, a flow 380 of operations when a send messagebutton is pressed, and sending an “on deck” emoji message or voicemessage, according to an example embodiment. Users can attempt to send acreated emoji message or voice message by pressing the send messagebutton 118 (step 381). Only one message can be “on deck” at a time. Thesend message button also shares some notable functionalities in thecontext of current phone activity.

When the user presses the send message button 118 at step 381, the phonewill first determine if there is currently an incoming call at step 382.If so (Yes at step 382), the phone will answer the incoming call andperform an incoming call answered sub-flow (step 403), see FIG. 5G andthe associated description below.

In FIG. 5E, if there is currently no incoming call (No at step 382) whenthe user presses the send message button (step 381), the phone willdetermine if a full screen “incoming emoji message received”notification is currently displayed at step 384. If so (Yes at step384), the phone will proceed to an incoming emoji message receivedsub-flow 385. An exemplary embodiment of an incoming emoji messagereceived sub-flow 385 is illustrated in FIG. 5H.

Turning to FIG. 5H, the incoming emoji message received sub-flow 385includes several steps, the first of which is to determine whether theemoji message is a game 2 create-a-moji emoji message (step 800). If so(Yes at step 800), the phone will go to game 2 (create-a-moji) gameplay(step 801). Opening a game 2 create-a-moji emoji message loads directlyinto game 2 gameplay, with the content of the received emoji message asthe starting template.

If the incoming emoji message is not a game 2 create-a-moji emojimessage, but rather a regular emoji message (No at step 800), the phonewill receive the emoji message at step 802, and display one or moreemojis included in the emoji message (step 803). In some exampleembodiments, the phone displays an animation corresponding to the emojiand also plays a corresponding sound effect (step 804). Next, the phonewill determine whether there are any more emojis in the message'ssequence (step 805). If the emoji message includes a sequence ofmultiple emojis (Yes at step 805), the phone will display the animationsand corresponding sound effects for each respective emoji in thesequence one at a time (repeating through steps 803 and 804 for eachemoji). If there is only one emoji in the message, or once there are noadditional emojis remaining in the message's sequence (No at step 805),the phone will transition at step 806 and return to the previous screenbefore the “incoming emoji message received” notification at step 807.

Returning back to FIG. 5E at step 384, if a full screen “incoming emojimessage received” notification is not currently displayed (No at step384), the phone will determine if a full screen “incoming voice messagereceived” notification is currently displayed at step 386. If so (Yes atstep 386), the phone will proceed to an incoming voice message receivedsub-flow 387, which in this embodiment includes receiving the incomingvoice message, and playing the received voice message. Once the voicemessage has finished playing, the phone will return to the previousscreen before the “incoming voice message received” notification.

Otherwise, if there is currently no incoming call and no full screenincoming emoji or voice message received notification currentlydisplayed (No at step 386), then the phone will determine whether thereis currently an emoji message or voice message “on deck” and ready tosend at step 388. This means that the user has just created an emojimessage by pressing one or more emoji buttons, or a voice message usingthe record button. If there is currently no “on deck” emoji message orvoice message ready to send (No at step 388), this will be considered afailed send attempt (because there is nothing on deck ready to send)(step 389). The phone may also display a “send (failed attempt)—nothingon deck” notification at step 389, before returning to the home screenat step 390.

If there is currently an “on deck” emoji message or voice message readyto send (Yes at step 388), the phone will determine whether any validrecipient phone is found on the network at step 391. A valid recipientphone is any phone that is paired with the sending phone that is awakeand within range. If no valid recipient phone is found on the network(No at step 391), this will be considered a failed send attempt (becausethere is no recipient on the network currently), and the phone may alsodisplay a “send (failed attempt)—no recipient found” notification atstep 392 and return to the previous screen (e.g., emoji creation orvoice record) at step 393.

If a valid recipient phone is found on the network (Yes at step 391),the phone will proceed with a send “on-deck” emoji or voice messagesub-flow process at step 394. In the illustrated embodiment, anexemplary send “on-deck” emoji or voice message sub-flow process 394 isillustrated in FIG. 5I.

Turning to FIG. 5I, the send “on-deck” emoji or voice message sub-flowprocess 394 involves the phone determining whether more than one validrecipient is found on the network. If so (Yes), the phone will display a“choose recipient” prompt and will follow the choose recipient sub-flow409 that is illustrated in FIG. 5J and described below. Returning toFIG. 5I, if there is only one valid recipient found on the network, orafter the intended recipient is chosen in the case of multiple validrecipients being found on the network, the phone will prepare themessage to send and connect with the recipient phone (step 810).

At step 811, the phone may determine whether the send message has beenaborted prematurely. A user can abort a sending message in progress atany step before the final confirmation by pressing the power button (andpossibly one or more other button(s)), or if a valid phone becomes aninvalid phone (e.g., went to sleep or moved out of range) before themessage can be received. If the send message has been abortedprematurely (Yes at step 811), the phone will display an aborted sendconfirmation at step 812, and return to the previous screen at step 822.

If the user has not prematurely aborted the send message (No at step811), then the phone will determine whether the “on deck” message is anemoji message (step 813). If so (Yes at step 813), the phone will replaythe emoji message as it is being sent to the recipient phone. In someexample embodiments, this cycle presents a fast version of the “on deck”emoji sequence being sent, alternating between transitions and theuser-defined emojis until the entire sequence has been presented. If theuser is sending a game 2 create-a-moji created emoji, the emoji messageshould include all of the created content as the user has created it(e.g., halves, audio, animations, background).

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5I, if the emoji message is ondeck (step 813), then the device determines whether the “on deck”message contains just one emoji (step 814). If it does (Yes at step814), then the device sends a Giggle As They Go message that has asingle emoji in the message (step 815). If it has more than one emoji(No at step 814), then the device determines whether the “on deck”message contains between two and five emojis (step 816). If it does (Yesat step 816), then the device sends a particular Giggle As They Gomessage that has between two and five emojis (step 817). If the messagedoes not contain between two and five emojis (No at step 816), then thedevice sends a particular Giggle As They Go message that has between sixand eight emojis in the message (step 818). The device then determineswhether the send operation was aborted prematurely at step 820. If yes,then the process goes to step 812 in which an aborted send confirmationis displayed.

Once all of the emojis in the sequence of the emoji message have beenpresented (No at step 820), the phone will display a successful sendconfirmation (step 821), and return to the previous screen (step 822).Otherwise, if the “on deck” message is not an emoji message, but ratheris a voice message (No at step 813), the phone will replay the voicemessage as it is being sent to the recipient phone (step 819). Once thevoice message has finished being replayed, and the user has notprematurely aborted the send message (step 820), the phone will displaya successful send confirmation at 821, and return to the previous screenat step 822.

Turning to a different flow or process of the communication device, the“call phone” button flow is now described. Referring to FIG. 5F, anexemplary call phone button flow 400 is illustrated. To call anotherpaired phone, a user presses the call phone button 116. With just twophones on the network, this will automatically attempt to call the onlyother phone it sees. If more than two phones are allowed to be pairedtogether, a method of choosing which phone to call will be presented.Pressing this button again disconnects the call.

Voicemail is a subtly different form of voice messages that functionsvery similarly: when a user calls another user's phone that is awake andwithin range, but the recipient does not answer, the calling user isable to leave a voicemail message. When a call is not answered, afterseveral “rings” the calling user's phone displays a notification thatthe call went unanswered, and automatically advances to begin and recorda voicemail message (the user is not required to press the record voicebutton). Like a regular voice recording, it displays a full screenmetered recording animation with beep sound effects at the start and theend of the recording period to demonstrate the recording's five secondduration. Unlike a regular voice recording, it does not replay therecording for the user, and simply disconnects the call after themessage has been recorded on the recipient phone, notifying the sender'sphone that the message has been successfully left.

FIG. 5F shows a flow 400 of operations when a call phone button 401 ispressed, according to an example embodiment. Users can attempt to callanother phone through the call phone button 116. This button shares somenotable functionalities in the context of phone activity.

When the user presses the call phone button at step 401, the phone willfirst determine if there is currently an incoming call at step 402. Ifso (Yes at step 402), the phone will answer the incoming call at step402 and go to a call in progress sub-flow 403, which is illustrated inFIG. 5G.

Referring to FIG. 5G, an exemplary call in progress sub-flow process 403is illustrated. This sub-flow is referred to alternatively as anincoming call answered sub-flow process. In this embodiment, the call inprogress sub-flow process 403 includes the following steps. At step 420,the call was answered, and at step 421, the call is in progress. Whilethe call is in progress, the phone will determine if the games button ispressed during the call (step 422). If so (Yes at step 422), the phonewill go to game 3 (emoji toss) gameplay (see step 423). Pressing thegames button during a call will proceed to launch game 3 (emoji toss)without interrupting the live call. In addition, while the call is inprogress, if the games button has not been pressed during the call (Noat step 422), the phone will determine whether the call has beendisconnected by either user (step 424). If so (Yes at step 424), thephone will disconnect the call at step 428, and return to the previousscreen before the incoming call notification at step 429.

Otherwise (No at step 424), the phone will determine whether a timeoutduration is reached (step 425). If neither user presses the games buttonor disconnects the call, the call may continue until a particular periodof time has expired (returning back to step 421). If the phonedetermines that the timeout duration has been reached (Yes at step 425),a timeout sequence will begin at step 426. During the timeout sequence,the phone will determine whether either user has reset the timer at step427. After the timeout sequence begins, a user can stop the phone fromdisconnecting by pressing any button to reset the timer, ending thetimeout sequence immediately and allowing the call to continue. Ifeither user resets the timer (Yes at step 427), the process will loopback to step 421 and continue the call. Otherwise, if neither userresets the timer (No at step 427), the phone will disconnect the call atstep 428, and return to the previous screen before the incoming callnotification at step 429.

Returning to FIG. 5F and step 402, if there is currently no incomingcall (No at step 402) when the user presses the call phone button (step401), the phone will determine if a full screen “incoming emoji messagereceived” notification is currently displayed at step 406. If so (Yes atstep 406), the phone proceeds to the incoming emoji message receivedsub-flow 385, described above relative to FIG. H. If not (No at step406), the phone proceeds to step 407.

At step 407, if a full screen “incoming voice message received”notification is currently displayed (Yes at step 407), the phoneproceeds to the incoming voice message received sub-flow 387, which isdescribed above.

Otherwise, if there is currently no incoming call and no full screenincoming emoji or voice message received notification currentlydisplayed (No at step 407), then the phone will determine whether two ormore valid recipient phones are found on the network at step 408. Avalid recipient phone is any phone that is paired with the sending phonethat is awake and within range. If there are multiple valid phones foundon the network (Yes at step 408), the phone proceeds with a chooserecipient sub-flow process 409.

An exemplary embodiment of a choose recipient sub-flow process 409 isillustrated in FIG. 5J. Referring to FIG. 5J, at step 840, the devicedisplays a “choose recipient” prompt. If the user presses the call phonebutton within a short period of time (˜0.75s) (Yes at step 841), thephone will play a recipient cycle selection sound effect at step 842,cycle the intended recipient at step 843, and return to step 840 inwhich the prompt is displayed. If the user does not press the call phonebutton within the short period of time (No at step 841), the phone willdetermine that the user has chosen the intended recipient at step 844.

Returning to FIG. 5F and in particular to step 408, if there are not twoor more valid recipients found on the network (No at step 408), or afterthe intended recipient is chosen in the case of multiple valid recipientphones being found on the network, the phone will dial and ring whileattempting to connect with another phone on the network (e.g., apreviously paired phone, or the chosen intended recipient) (step 410).

If no valid recipient phone is found on the network (No at step 411),the phone will continue dialing and ringing for a first threshold periodof time (˜3.5 seconds) at step 412. If there is still no valid recipientphone found on the network after the first threshold period of time haselapsed (Yes at step 412), this will be considered a failed call attempt(step 413) (because there is no valid recipient phone on the networkcurrently), and the phone will return to the previous screen or the homescreen at step 405. The phone may also display a “call (failedattempt)—no recipient found” notification before returning to theprevious screen or home screen.

Returning to step 411, if a valid recipient phone is found on thenetwork (Yes at step 411), the phone will determine whether the call wasanswered by the recipient phone at step 414. If the call is answered bythe recipient phone (Yes at step 414), then the phone will connect withthe recipient phone, enabling the respective users to exchange livecommunications while the call is in progress via the call in progresssub-flow process at step 403 (see FIG. 5G). After that process, the callcontinues until it is disconnected at step 404 and then the phonereturns to the home screen at step 405.

If the call was not answered at step 414 (No at step 414) and therecipient phone rejected the call (Yes at step 415), or if the recipientphone has still not answered or rejected the call after the secondthreshold period of time has elapsed (Yes at step 416), the phone willdetermine that there is no answer and forward the user to leave avoicemail for the user of the recipient phone. In particular, therecipient phone follows the voicemail sub-flow at step 417.

An exemplary voicemail sub-flow 417 is illustrated in FIG. 5K. As shown,the process begins at step 850 where there was no answer at therecipient phone and the calling phone is forwarded to voicemail. In step851, the recipient phone will update the home screen and toolbarnotification visuals/icons (to indicate the missed call). At step 852,the phone will start recording. While recording is in progress (step853), the phone will determine whether the user has stopped therecording at step 854. A user can stop a recording before it runs itsfull duration by pressing the power button, the record voice button, thecall phone button, or the send message button, for example. If the userhas pressed a button to stop the recording, or once the recording hasrun its full duration, the phone will stop recording the voicemail atstep 854. The recipient phone will update the home screen and toolbarnotification visuals/icons (to indicate the voicemail) at step 855, andreturn to the previous screen or home screen at step 856. Referring toFIG. 5F, at step 416, if the call has not rung for eight seconds (No atstep 416), the process returns to step 411.

Another exemplary process of the communication device is discussed. Thisexemplary process involves the use of the games button on thecommunication device. Users will have the ability to access and playvarious different games, including single-player games and two-playergames. For example, three games are currently defined as: (1) emojismash/emoji drop (single-player), (2) create-a-moji (single-player &two-player), and (3) emoji toss/emoji catch (two-player), which are eachdescribed in further detail below. To begin a game, a user presses theplay games button 134. This presents the user with an opening splashscreen for one of the available games, automatically starting that game.Additional games are displayed as small icons on the splash screen.Pressing the play games button while on this screen, or at any pointduring a game, will cycle to and present the next available game'ssplash screen; this allows a user to choose from all available games.Additionally, the default selection will cycle through all availablegames in a fixed sequence to ensure that users are presented with everygame throughout play, even if they never actively change the defaultselected game. Repeated presses of this button will also cycle past allavailable games to end the game state and return to normal phone play.Playing a game to completion will also end this state. The roster ofavailable games is dependent on the status of the recipient phone(s) onthe network. A user cannot start a two-player game if their phone is theonly recognized phone. If a user is on a live call when the play gamesbutton is pressed, the selection will always default to an availabletwo-player game.

FIG. 5L shows a flow or process 430 of operations when a games button ispressed (step 431), according to an example embodiment. Users can accessavailable games through the games button 134. Availability of optional2-player gameplay (game 2—create-a-moji) and dedicated 2-player gameplay(game 3—emoji toss) is contingent upon the status of other phones on thenetwork.

If the user is not currently on a live call when the games button ispressed (No at step 432), then a determination is made whether there areany other valid phones on the network at step 433. A valid recipientphone is any phone that is paired with the sending phone that is awakeand within range. If there is another valid phone on the network (Yes atstep 433), then the phone will establish game 1, game 2, and game 3 asavailable games in the games landing at step 434. If there are no othervalid phones on the network (No at step 433), then the phone willestablish only game 1 and game 2 as available games in the games landingat step 435.

In some example embodiments, if there was a game just played withoutreturning to the home screen (Yes at step 436), the phone will establishthe last played game as the default selection on the games landing atstep 437. If no game was just played without returning to the homescreen (No at step 436), the flow continues to step 438. In some exampleembodiments, if there is another valid phone on the network (Yes at step438), the phone will establish game 3 as the default selection in thegames landing (step 439). If there are no other valid phones on thenetwork (No at step 438), the phone will cycle to the next availablegame as the default selection on the games landing at step 440. When noother valid phones are on the network, after the user has exited thegames state and returned, the default game should cycle to the next inline to avoid the default being the same as the last game played.

At step 441, the phone will display the games landing and choose gameprompt. If the user presses the games button within a short period oftime (approximately 0.75 seconds) (Yes at step 442), the phone will playa game cycle selection sound effect at step 443, and loop back to cycleto the next available game in the games landing at step 440. If the userdoes not press the games button again within the short period of time(No at step 442), then the phone will determine the game chosen at step444, and go to the selected game (current default selection) at step445. In some example embodiments, when game 3 is selected at step 445,the recipient phone receives a game invite notification, in which casethe sending phone may wait on this screen before proceeding to the game3 intro at step 445.

Returning back to step 432, if the user is currently on a live call whenthe games button is pressed (Yes at step 432), then the phone willautomatically go to game 3 (emoji toss) at step 446. In some exampleembodiments, pressing the games button during a call will proceed tolaunch game 3 (emoji toss) without interrupting the live call, if thephone enables this gameplay at the same time as talking. Otherwise,pressing the games button during a live call may interrupt the call infavor of game 3 if simultaneous operation is not enabled (in which case,the phone may optionally display a notification or confirmation requestto end the call).

Next, the three example games mentioned above will each be described infurther detail with reference to FIGS. 5M, 5N, and 5 ), respectively.These example embodiments of the games feature of the emoji phones areintended to be illustrative and non-limiting in nature. Different gamesand/or numbers of available games are also contemplated within the scopeof the present disclosure. At any point during gameplay, pressing thegames button again will return the user to the games landing.

Referring to FIG. 5M, game 1 (emoji smash/emoji drop) is a 1-player gamethat can only be accessed through the games button, and is alwaysavailable regardless of how many other phones may be available on thenetwork. Emojis appear one at a time onscreen, with a fast-moving,fuse-like countdown timer. user must quickly find and press thedisplayed emoji before the timer expires. The timer gets incrementallyfaster based on user performance.

In one embodiment, game 1 gameplay has four difficulty tiers that changebased on user performance within each higher tier. For example, themusic will change, emojis drop at a faster rate/speed, emoji varietyincreases, and/or more emojis are onscreen simultaneously (staggereddrop times). The phone can tally and display scores and differentcelebration animations upon completion of gameplay.

In more detail, emojis are presented one at a time in a random orderalong with their familiar animations and sound effects. Each emoji isaccompanied by a fuse-like visual timer, and a user must press thecorresponding emoji button to match each displayed emoji before itstimer expires. Users that match an emoji before the time runs out arepresented with reward feedback and a new emoji to match. Users thatdon't match an emoji in time will receive error feedback (such as a “3strikes” indication) and the game ends. The timer's speed can accelerateover time based on successful matches to increase the challenge. Whenthe game ends, the user can receive a numerical score on a victoryscreen, with fancier versions for higher scoring players.

Referring to FIG. 5N, game 2 (create-a-moji) is a 1-player game that canbe accessed through the games button, or a 2-player game that can beaccessed when receiving a create-a-moji emoji message from anotherpaired phone on the network. This game is unique in that it can beplayed either as a single player experience or sent between two phonesto make it into a multi-player game experience. It will always beavailable regardless of how many other phones may be available on thenetwork. A user presses the emoji buttons to “mix and match” emojihalves to create their own “Frankenstein”-like emojis. Created emojiscan be sent to other phones on the network, allowing users to “hotpotato” their creations back and forth as special emoji messages.

Game 2 gameplay begins with a blank emoji template, and includes some orall of the following features: a) each emoji press adds half its face tothe template, alternating left and right sides; b) background graphicschange every other emoji button press; c) randomly assigned soundeffects with emoji animations play when idle; d) the send message buttonsends a create-a-moji emoji message; and/or e) opening a create-a-mojibrings the recipient phone directly to game 2 gameplay. In some exampleembodiments, audio pool selections can be determined pseudo randomly forthe sound effects, and may be unrelated to the onscreen emoji halves.Some variations may play once while others may play twice. Once the useris satisfied with the emoji creation and presses the send messagebutton, the create-a-moji emoji is ready to be sent as an emoji message(including the different halves, animations, background and soundeffects). Thus, after an emoji has been added to the creation duringgameplay of game 2, pressing the send message button will attempt tosend the creation to a recipient phone, and this is treated like sendingan emoji message. Opening a create-a-moji emoji message will bypass thegame's intro and load the recipient phone directly into its own instanceof the create-a-moji game, using the received content as their startingtemplate.

In more detail, a default (or random) emoji is displayed at the start ofplay to serve as the “mix and match” foundation. A user presses an emojibutton to replace the left half of the displayed emoji with the pressedemoji, creating a “half and half” emoji. If the user presses the sameemoji button again, the right half of the displayed emoji is alsoreplaced with the pressed emoji, resulting in a fully replaced emoji. Ifthe user presses a different emoji button, the left half of thedisplayed emoji is replaced with the pressed emoji, creating a different“half and half” emoji. When a user stops pressing buttons for a briefperiod (˜2s), each half of the emoji will play its halved animation, anda random emoji animation sound effects will be paired with the creation.When a user is happy with the created emoji, they can press the sendmessage button to send their work to another phone on the network. Thismessage will be sent like any other emoji message. If no phone isavailable, they will receive an indicator that the message could not besent and return to their place in the game. When a recipient phone'suser receives the message, either immediately or from their mailbox, itbehaves as if they opened the game, allowing them to edit that emoji inthe same manner and send it back to the original sender, like a game of“hot potato” with their emoji creations.

Referring to FIG. 5O, game 3 (emoji toss/emoji catch) is an exclusively2-player game that can only be accessed through the games button, andcan even be enabled during a live call. This game is only available ifanother phone is detected on the network. If no other phones are presenton the network, game 3 is not selectable for play. Users pass an emojiback and forth across a play area, trying to catch it before it passesby them. To throw an emoji, a user presses any emoji button. To catch athrown emoji, a user must press its matching emoji button. There are afew variations on how this could play, as discussed in further detailbelow.

Game 3 gameplay has two players “tossing” and “catching” emojis acrossthe screen. Spin speed may be determined pseudo randomly. The player whosent the game invite serves first. In some example embodiments, thelocal player's side is always the bottom, and the remote player's sideis always the top.

In more detail, the users take turns “throwing” and “catching” an emojiacross a play area. The user holding the emoji in their “mitt” is thethrower and the other is the catcher. The throwing user presses anyemoji buttons to throw that emoji to the other side. The pressed buttondetermines the emoji that gets thrown, transforming the emoji in play asappropriate. The catching user must press the displayed emoji'scorresponding button before it reaches the opposite side (or “mitt”) tosuccessfully catch it. If the user successfully catches the thrownemoji, that user becomes the thrower and the other user is now thecatcher. If the user fails to catch the emoji before it passes theirmitt, they miss (get a strike or game over, for example). Gameplay maybenefit from variables like automated moving mitts (allowing users to beable to time their throws to increase the odds of missing) and shrinkingmitts (making it harder to catch, possibly associated with misses) toscale up the challenge over time.

Separate from the games functionality, the communication device includesa flashlight function that is accessed by using the flashlight button.Upon a user pressing the flashlight button, the communication devicedetermines whether the flashlight is on. If yes, then the devicedetermines whether the flashlight is on the low brightness level. Ifyes, then the device turns the flashlight up to the medium brightnesslevel. The device then determines whether any other button has beenpressed. If yes, then the flashlight process is stopped and the devicereturns to the home screen and proceeds to the appropriate operationflow based on the particular button that was pressed. If no other buttonhas been pressed, the device determines whether the flashlight buttonwas pressed again.

Returning to the determination by the device if it is on the low level,if it is not, then the device determines whether it is on the mediumlevel when the flashlight button was pressed. If yes, the device changesthe brightness to the high brightness level. If the device is not on themedium level when the flashlight button is pressed, then the devicedetermines whether it is on the high brightness level. If yes, then theflashlight is turned off. If no, then the device determines whether ithas been turned off completely.

Next, various functionality when a phone is the recipient phone will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. Referring to FIG. 6A, anexemplary embodiment of a remote input flow for incoming notificationsis illustrated. Referenced in example embodiments herein, the screenwill display a variety of statuses, alerts and notifications aboutthings like calls and messages as needed. They will have audio andgraphics with animations as appropriate, and some will provide visualinstructions (ex. make sure both phones are powered on and near oneanother), but no text or speech. These indicators will be presented as“full screen” displays and/or on the phone's toolbar 114 based on theirnature (e.g., a full screen notification for a currently incoming callvs. a toolbar icon showing that there are messages sitting in theinbox).

Full screen notifications will be transient (up to a few seconds) whilemore persistent notifications will reside on the toolbar, allowing themto share the space onscreen during standard phone use. Sometimes anotification will begin full screen and then migrate to the toolbar(e.g., incoming message received message, or incoming call missed call).When the toolbar 114 and its notifications are not needed or relevant,they will be hidden to free up screen space, such as when the user isplaying a game.

FIG. 6A shows a flow 450 of operations associated with remote input andincoming notifications when a recipient phone receives an incoming emojimessage, voice message, call or game invite, according to an exampleembodiment.

If the remote input corresponding to the incoming notification 451 is anincoming call (Yes at step 452), the recipient phone will display an“incoming call received” notification at step 453. Incoming calls usethe ringtone assigned to the recipient phone. If the user of therecipient phone answers the incoming call before its ringing completed(Yes at step 454), the call is connected and the recipient phone willreturn to the previous screen before receiving the incoming notificationat step 457. If the user of the recipient phone does not answer theincoming call by the time its ringing completed (No at 454), then therecipient phone will display an incoming call missed notification atstep 455. The recipient phone will also update the home screen andtoolbar notification visuals/icons as step 456.

If the remote input corresponding to the incoming notification is not acall (No at step 452) and is an incoming game invite (Yes at step 458),the recipient phone will display an “incoming game invite received”notification at step 459. If the user of the recipient phone accepts theincoming game invite before this notification completed (Yes at step460), the game is launched. If the user of the recipient phone does notaccept the incoming game invite when this notification has completed (Noat step 460), then the recipient phone will display an incoming gameinvite missed notification at step 461. The recipient phone will alsoupdate the home screen and toolbar notification visuals/icons at step456.

Returning to step 458, if the incoming invite is not a game (No at step458), and if the remote input corresponding to the incoming notificationis an incoming emoji message (Yes at step 462), the recipient phone willdisplay an “incoming emoji message received” notification at step 463.If the user of the recipient phone opens the emoji message before thisnotification has completed (Yes at step 464), the recipient phone willdisplay the emoji message. If the user of the recipient phone has notopened the emoji message when this notification has completed (No atstep 464), the recipient phone will display an incoming emoji messagemissed notification at step 465, and add the missed emoji message to thecorresponding inbox at step 466. The recipient phone will then alsoupdate the home screen and toolbar notification visuals/icons at step456.

Returning to step 462, if the incoming message is not an emoji message(no at step 462), the phone goes to step 467. If the remote inputcorresponding to the incoming notification is an incoming voice message(Yes at step 467), the recipient phone will display an “incoming voicemessage received” notification at step 468. If the user of the recipientphone opens the voice message before this notification has completed(Yes at step 464), the recipient phone will play the voice message. Ifthe user of the recipient phone has not opened the voice message whenthis notification has completed (No at step 464), the recipient phonewill display an incoming voice message missed notification at step 465,and add the missed voice message to the corresponding inbox at step 466.The recipient phone will then also update the home screen and toolbarnotification visuals/icons at step 456.

Otherwise, in an example embodiment, a No at step 467 leads to step 469where the remote input corresponding to the incoming notification mayrelate to phone pairing, in which case the phone will display a phonepairing (success) notification, and then return to the previous screenbefore the incoming notification at step 457. This last option forremote input notification appears if phones on its network are pairedwhile this phone is active, pairing this phone as well, even if thephone was not actively attempting to pair.

Another exemplary process of the communication device or phone isdiscussed relative to FIG. 6B. This exemplary process involves theoperation of the phone upon actuation of the check messages button. Whenan emoji message is delivered, a full screen display will prompt theuser to press the check messages button 138 to immediately receive theincoming message. If the user does not, the emoji message's notificationicon will be displayed on their toolbar to notify them of its presence.When the user is ready, the user may access delivered messages bypressing this button. If users have multiple messages in their inbox,they are retrieved one at a time, with each subsequent press of thereceive messages button. When the user receives an emoji message, theseries of emojis that were sent are displayed in sequence along withtheir animations and sound effects, duplicating the sequence that wasdisplayed on the sending phone's screen when the message was sent. Afteran emoji message is received, whether accepted immediately or pulledfrom the inbox, it is automatically deleted; once seen, emoji messagesare not stored for future viewing.

Similarly, when a voice message is delivered, a full screen display willprompt the user to press the check messages button 138 to immediatelyreceive the incoming message. If the user does not, the voice message'snotification icon will be displayed on their toolbar to notify them ofits presence. When they're ready, they may access delivered messages bypressing this button. If users have multiple messages in their inbox,they are retrieved one at a time, with each subsequent press of thereceive messages button. (It is worth noting that the system does notcare if the messages are emoji messages or voice messages, and will playthem in the order they were received, one message per press). When theuser receives a voice message, the phone will display a full screenmetered visual as the message plays, duplicating the visual displayed onthe sending phone's screen when the message was sent. After a voicemessage is received, whether accepted immediately or pulled from theinbox, it is automatically deleted; once heard, voice messages are notstored for future listening.

FIG. 6B shows a flow 480 of operations when a check messages button ispressed, and receiving remote input (e.g., incoming messages) accordingto an example embodiment. Users can attempt to open any emoji messages,voice messages or voicemail in their inbox through the check messagesbutton 138. In some example embodiments, message types are treated inthe same manner and are opened in reverse chronological order.

When the user presses the check messages button at step 481, the phonewill determine if a full screen “incoming emoji message received”notification is currently displayed at step 482. If so (Yes at step482), the phone will proceed with the incoming emoji message receivedsub-flow 385 (see FIG. 5H).

If a full screen “incoming emoji message received” notification is notcurrently displayed (No at step 482), the phone will determine if a fullscreen “incoming voice message received” notification is currentlydisplayed at step 483. If so (Yes at step 483), the phone will proceedto an incoming voice message received sub-flow 387. In one embodiment ofsub-flow 387, the phone will receive the incoming voice message, andplay the received voice message. Once the voice message has finishedplaying, the phone will return to the previous screen before the“incoming voice message received” notification.

Otherwise, if there is no full screen incoming emoji or voice messagereceived notification currently displayed (No at step 483), then thephone will determine whether there is currently an emoji message or avoice message (or voicemail left from a missed call) in thecorresponding inbox of the phone at step 484. If not (No at step 484),this will be considered a check messages failed attempt (because thephone's inbox is currently empty), and the phone may also display a“check messages (failed attempt)—inbox is empty” notification at step485, and will return to the home screen at step 486.

If there is currently an emoji message and/or voice message in thecorresponding inbox of the phone (Yes at step 484), the phone will beginopening the emoji message or voice message at step 487. In some exampleembodiments, the phone will prepare to open the last message received atstep 488. In this case, messages are opened in reverse chronologicalorder, and are not organized by type. At step 489, the phone willdetermine if the last message received is an emoji message. If not (Noat step 489), then the last received message is a voice message (or avoicemail) in this case, and the phone will play the voice message orvoicemail at step 490. The phone will then erase the played voicemessage or voicemail at step 491, and return to step 482 to repeat theprocess for the next message in reverse chronological order (until thephone's inbox is empty (No at step 484)). If the last received messageis an emoji message (Yes at step 489), then the phone will proceed to anincoming emoji message received sub-flow 387, either the same as orsimilar to that described herein.

Turning to FIGS. 7A-7C, several examples of remote interaction flows orprocesses for the communication devices are illustrated. The followingexamples for remote interactions relate to phone logistics, includingbut not limited to sending and receiving emoji and voice messages.Referring to FIG. 7A, in this example, the flow 500A involves bothphones A and B being awake, and both users being present. In otherwords, phones A and B are both awake and within operating range of oneanother (step 510). In step 520, users A and B are both present and areinteracting with their respective phones A and B. In step 530, user A ofphone A sends an emoji message to phone B of user B. From user A's andphone A's perspective, phone A replays the message's emoji sequence bydisplaying the emoji to user A in step 532. In step 536, phone Aindicates that the emoji message was successfully sent to phone B. Inthis embodiment, such indication involves phone A displaying anotification to user A.

At approximately the same time, in step 534, phone B indicates that anemoji message was received by displaying an appropriate notification touser B. In Step 538, user B can press the receive messages button onphone B to see the emoji message.

Referring to FIG. 7B, a continued operation sub-flow 500B for phones Aand B is illustrated. This flow 500B is a flow that is an option fromstep 520 of FIG. 7A. While FIG. 7A relates to an emoji message, thissub-flow 500B relates to a call between phones A and B.

At step 540, user A uses phone A to call user B of phone B. At step 542,phone A “dials” and “rings” as it calls phone B. Simultaneously, phone B“rings” and indicates that a call is incoming at step 544. In addition,phone B prompts its user to receive the call by displaying an image ofthe call button.

If user B does not use phone B to answer the incoming call at step 560,after several rings phone B will display a missed call notification atstep 562. At this point in step 564, phone A indicates that user B didnot answer, and prompts user A to leave a voicemail message and user Ais allowed to leave a voicemail. Voicemail is like sending a voicemessage but with fewer steps. At step 570, phone A beeps, records avoicemail message automatically, and doesn't replay it. Alternatively,user A can press the call button again on phone A to hang up withoutleaving a voice message at step 566. If user A leaves a voicemailmessage, phone B will display a voicemail notification at step 572.

Referring to FIG. 7C, an alternative sub-flow is illustrated. In thissub-flow 500C, which is based off of step 520 of FIG. 7A, user A iscalling user B's phone at step 520. Steps 542 and 544 are the same steps542 and 544 illustrated in FIG. 7B, respectively. In this sub-flow 500C,user B presses the call button on phone B to answer the call from user Ain step 550. This action places both users on a live call at step 552. Alive call can be considered to be a local input to avoid either of thephones falling asleep while a user is engaged with it. Either user candisconnect from a call by pressing the call button on that user's phone(step 554).

Turning to FIGS. 8A and 8B, an exemplary remote interaction flow orprocess for the communication devices is illustrated. Referring to FIG.8A, in this example, the flow 600A involves both phones A and B beingawake and within operating range of one another (step 610). In step 620,user A is present and interacting with user A's phone A. However, user Bis absent from user B's phone and in other words, is not interactingwith phone B.

In step 630, user A utilizes phone A to send an emoji message to user Bvia phone B. On phone A, the message's emoji sequence is replayed bybeing displayed to user A in step 632. At step 636, phone A indicatesthat the emoji message was sent successfully to phone B. This indicationis in the form of a displayed notification on phone A to user A.

Turning to phone B, at step 634 phone B indicates that an emoji messagewas received by displaying an appropriate notification on phone B.However, user B doesn't notice the indication. After a certain timeperiod of local inactivity, phone B goes to sleep at step 650 and storesevents that took place while phone B was awake. At step 652, at somepoint later in time, phone B is woken up at which point phone Bretrieves events from before it went to sleep. In particular, phone Bindicates that there is an emoji message. At step 654, user B pressesthe receive messages button on phone B, which results in phone Bdisplaying the received emoji message.

Referring to FIG. 8B, a sub-flow or process 600B that stems from step620 in FIG. 8A is illustrated. In this flow 600B from step 620, user Autilizes phone A to call user B on phone B at step 640. At step 642phone A “dials” and “rings” as it calls phone B. Simultaneously, phone B“rings” and indicates that a call is incoming, prompting user B toreceive it by displaying an image of the call button on phone B (step644). However, in this flow 600B, user B doesn't notice the image (step660). After several rings, phone B displays a missed call notificationat step 662. Phone A displays a notification that phone B did not answerthe call and prompts user A to leave a voicemail (step 664). Voicemailis like sending a voice message but with fewer steps. Phone A beeps,records the voicemail message automatically, and doesn't replay it (step670). Alternatively, user A can press the call button on phone A to hangup the call without leaving a voice message (step 666). Referring toback to phone B, at step 662 phone B displays a voicemail messagenotification.

At step 680, after five minutes of local inactivity, phone B goes tosleep and stores events that occurred while phone B was still awake. Awhile later, phone B is woken up (step 682). Phone B retrieves theevents that took place when it was awake. At step 682, phone B indicatesthat there is one or more of an emoji message, a voice message, and/or amissed call. Phone B's user can access the stored messages by pressingthe receive messages button at step 684. The user retrieves each messageindividually by pressing the receive messages button to hear or see eachone. Messages are retrieved in the order they were received. Messagesare stored until they are accessed and are then erased automatically.

Turning to FIGS. 9A and 9B, an exemplary flow or process for thecommunication devices is illustrated. Referring to FIG. 9A, in thisexample, the flow 700A involves both phone A being awake and phone Bbeing asleep. At step 710, phone A and phone B are within wireless rangeof each other. Phone A is awake and user A is present and using phone A(step 720). In addition, phone B is asleep and user B is absent.

At step 730, user A utilizes phone A to send an emoji message to phoneB. At step 732, phone A replays the message's emoji sequence bydisplaying it on phone A for user A to see. Phone A attempts to send theemoji message. However, at step 734 phone A indicates that the emojimessage could not be delivered. At step 736, phone A displays a promptindicating that user A should make sure both phones are powered on andwithin range of one another. Phone B never receives the message or anynotifications since it was asleep when the message was sent. Thus, whenphone B is woken up at a later time in step 750, there are no prioractivities stored.

Turning to FIG. 9B, a sub-flow or process 700B that stems from step 720in FIG. 9A is illustrated. In flow 700B, user A utilizes phone A to callPhone B in step 740. In step 742, phone A “dials” and “rings” as itattempts to call phone B. When phone B does not answer the call, phone Aindicates that the call could not go through (step 744). This indicationtakes the form of a displayed notification to user A on phone A. Inaddition, in step 746, phone A displays a prompt indicating that user Ashould make sure both phones are powered on and within range of oneanother. Phone B never receives the call or any notifications of themissed call since it was asleep when the call was made.

A while later, Phone B is woken up (step 760). Phone B does not knowabout any of the events that took place while it was asleep, and it doesnot indicate anything about the missed events or messages.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating various example components of anelectronic device for implementing the emoji phones 10A, 10B of FIG. 1 .Each of the phones 10A, 10B includes a processor 910, a memory 920 withlogic 925, a wireless communications interface 930, a wiredcommunications interface 940, a display 950, a microphone 960, a speaker970, and buttons 980 (e.g., the power button, functional buttonsrelating to calling and messaging, and a set of emoji buttons).

In different embodiments of the invention, the communication processescan vary. In one embodiment, the first and second devices are configuredto play voice messages and display emoji messages, one at a time and inan order in which the messages are received, in response to each pressof the receive messages button. In another embodiment, voice messagesand emoji messages are automatically deleted after the user plays thevoice messages and views the emoji messages by pressing the receivemessages button. In yet another embodiment, pressing the call phonebutton or the send message button on the first device or the seconddevice automatically calls the other paired device of the second deviceor the first device or sends the other paired device of the seconddevice or the first device a current voice message or emoji message,without requiring any user input to select a specific recipient deviceor user.

In an alternative embodiment, both a transmitting device and a receivingdevice of the first and second devices must be awake and within apredetermined range to send and receive voice calls, voice messages, andemoji messages between the first and second devices. In one embodiment,each of the first and second devices is configured to turn off the firstand second wireless communications interfaces and enter a sleep stateafter the first or second device is inactive (does not receive any localinput) for a threshold period of time, such that the first and seconddevices can no longer receive and track voice calls, voice messages, andemoji messages while in the sleep state. In another embodiment, each ofthe first and second devices is configured to turn on the first andsecond wireless communications interfaces and enter a wake state inresponse to receiving a user input, such that the first and seconddevices can once again receive and track voice calls, voice messages,and emoji messages while in the wake state.

Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. The terminology usedherein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only andis not intended to be limiting of the invention. Unless otherwisedefined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) usedherein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be furtherunderstood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the specification andrelevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overlyformal sense unless expressly so defined herein. Well-known functions orconstructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.

As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items. As used herein, phrases such as “between X and Y” and“between about X and Y” should be interpreted to include X and Y. Asused herein, phrases such as “between about X and Y” mean “between aboutX and about Y.” As used herein, phrases such as “from about X to Y” mean“from about X to about Y.”

Spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”,“upper”, “lateral”, “left”, “right” and the like, may be used herein forease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship toanother element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It willbe understood that the spatially relative terms are intended toencompass different orientations of the device in use or operation inaddition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if thedevice in the figures is inverted, elements described as “under” or“beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “over” theother elements or features. The device may be otherwise oriented(rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the descriptors ofrelative spatial relationships used herein interpreted accordingly.

It will also be understood that, as used herein, the terms “example,”“exemplary,” and derivatives thereof are intended to refer tonon-limiting examples and/or variants embodiments discussed herein, andare not intended to indicate preference for one or more embodimentsdiscussed herein compared to one or more other embodiments.

The term “comprising” which is synonymous with “including,”“containing,” or “characterized by,” is inclusive or open-ended and doesnot exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps. The term“consisting essentially of” limits the scope of a claim to the specifiedmaterials or steps “and those that do not materially affect the basicand novel characteristic(s)” of the claimed invention. The term“consisting of” as used herein, excludes any element, step, oringredient not specified in the claim.

The invention being thus described, it will be apparent that the samemay be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to beincluded within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communication system comprising: a firstcommunication device including a first display configured to display afirst user interface, and a first wireless communications interface; anda second communication device including a second display configured todisplay a second user interface, and a second wireless communicationsinterface, wherein the first communication device and the secondcommunication device are pairable to allow the first communicationdevice and the second communication device to communicate over ashort-range wireless network via the first and second wirelesscommunications interfaces, and each of the first and second userinterfaces includes a plurality of emoji buttons associated withbuilding emoji-based messages and playing emoji-based games, whereinwhen the first communication device and the second communication deviceare both powered on/awake and within a threshold distance from eachother, and a first user of the first communication device and a seconduser of the second communication device are both present/currentlyactive: the first communication device transmits an emoji message to thesecond communication device, displays a sequence of animated emojis fromthe emoji message in the first user interface on the first display, anddisplays a notification indicating that the emoji message was deliveredsuccessfully to the second communication device; and the secondcommunication device receives the emoji message from the firstcommunication device, and displays a prompt indicating that the seconduser can view the received emoji message in the second user interface onthe second display.
 2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein theshort-range wireless network is a closed access network in which thefirst communication device and the second communication device cancommunicate only with each other and cannot communicate with anynon-paired external devices.
 3. The communication system of claim 1,wherein each of the first and second user interfaces has functionbuttons that include: a call button that is selectable to send andreceive live two-way voice calls; a send message button that isselectable to transmit voice messages and emoji messages; a record voicebutton that is selectable to record the voice messages; and a checkmessage button that is selectable to play an available voice message orview an available emoji message.
 4. The communication system of claim 3,wherein each of the first and second user interfaces further includes aninteractive view window including a toolbar configured to displaynotification icons, an animation corresponding to a current emojiselected by a first user or a second user, and an emoji tracker.
 5. Thecommunication system of claim 4, wherein each emoji tracker is a visualindicator that is configured to indicate a predetermined number of emojislots allowed in an emoji message, to identify which of the emoji slotsare filled and empty as the user presses emoji buttons to build asequence of emojis, and to track a position of the current emoji that isdisplayed in the interactive view window within the sequence of emojis.6. The communication system of claim 3, wherein the function buttons ofthe first and second user interfaces further includes a play gamesbutton, and in response to receiving user input pressing the play gamesbutton, the first and second communication devices are configured to:automatically display a single player emoji-based game if the user inputpressing the play games button is received while the other one of thefirst and second communication devices is powered off/asleep or outsidea threshold distance, display single player and multi-player emoji-basedgames if the user input pressing the play games button is received whileboth the first and second communication devices are powered on/awake andwithin the threshold distance from each other, or automatically displaya multi-player emoji-based game if the user input pressing the playgames button is received while the first and second communicationdevices are currently connected on a voice call.
 7. The communicationsystem of claim 1, wherein, when the first communication device and thesecond communication device are both powered on/awake and within athreshold distance from each other, and a first user of the firstcommunication device and a second user of the second communicationdevice are both present/currently active: the first communication deviceplaces a voice call to the second communication device, displays anotification that the voice call is connected for live two-wayinteraction if the second user accepts the voice call via the secondcommunication device, or outputs a prompt to leave a voicemail if thesecond user did not answer the voice call; and the second communicationdevice displays a prompt to accept the voice call incoming from thefirst communication device, displays a notification indicating a missedcall if the second user did not answer the voice.
 8. The communicationsystem of claim 1, wherein, when the first communication device and thesecond communication device are both powered on/awake and within athreshold distance from each other, and a first user of the firstcommunication device is present/currently active but a second user ofthe second communication device is absent/inactive: the firstcommunication device transmits an emoji message to the secondcommunication device, displays a sequence of animated emojis from theemoji message in the first user interface on the first display, anddisplays a notification indicating that the emoji message was deliveredsuccessfully to the second communication device; and the second devicereceives the emoji message from the first communication device, storesthe received emoji message in a memory of the second communicationdevice, and displays a notification indicating that the emoji messagehas been received in the second user interface on the second display. 9.The communication system of claim 1, wherein, when the firstcommunication device and the second communication device are bothpowered on/awake and within a threshold distance from each other, and afirst user of the first communication device is present/currently activebut a second user of the second communication device is absent/inactive:the first communication device places a voice call to the secondcommunication device, and outputs a prompt to leave a voicemail if thesecond user did not answer the voice call via the second communicationdevice; and the second communication device displays a prompt to acceptthe voice call incoming from the first communication device, displays anotification indicating a missed call if the second user did not answerthe voice call.
 10. The communication system of claim 1, wherein, whenthe first communication device is powered on/awake but the secondcommunication device is powered off/asleep or outside a thresholddistance: the first communication device attempts to transmit an emojimessage to the second communication device, displays a sequence ofemojis from the emoji message in the first user interface on the firstdisplay, and displays an error message indicating that delivery of theemoji message to the second communication device failed, wherein theerror message includes a warning that the second communication devicemust be powered on/awake and within a threshold distance from the firstcommunication device to allow the first communication device tocommunicate with the second device over the short-range wirelessnetwork; and the second communication device cannot receive and storethe emoji message while the second communication device is poweredoff/asleep or outside a threshold distance, and does not display anynotification relating to the emoji message once the second communicationdevice is powered on/awake.
 11. The communication system of claim 1,wherein, when the first communication device is powered on/awake but thesecond device is powered off/asleep or outside a threshold distance: thefirst communication device attempts to place a voice call to the secondcommunication device, and displays an error message indicating that thevoice call cannot be connected with the second device, wherein the errormessage includes a warning that the second communication device must bepowered on/awake and within a threshold distance from the firstcommunication device to communicate with the second communication deviceover the short-range wireless network; and the second communicationdevice cannot receive the voice call from the first communication devicewhile the second communication device is powered off/asleep or outside athreshold distance, and does not display any notification relating tothe voice call once the second communication device is powered on/awake.12. The communication system of claim 1, further comprising a thirdcommunication device including a third display configured to display athird user interface, and a third wireless communications interface,wherein the third communication device is configured to perform a securepairing process to allow the third communication device to communicatewith the first communication device, the second communication device, orboth over the short-range wireless network via the third wirelesscommunications interface.
 13. A communication system comprising: a firstcommunication device including a first set of buttons and a firstwireless communications interface; and a second communication deviceincluding a second set of buttons and a second wireless communicationsinterface, wherein the first communication device and the secondcommunication device are paired in advance to allow the firstcommunication device and the second communication device to communicateexclusively over a short-range wireless network via the first and secondwireless communications interfaces, each of the first and second sets ofbuttons includes a plurality of function buttons associated with callingand messaging functions, and a plurality of emoji buttons associatedwith building emoji-based messages and playing emoji-based games,wherein, when the first communication device and the secondcommunication device are both powered on/awake and within a thresholddistance from each other, and a first user of the first communicationdevice is present/currently active but a second user of the secondcommunication device is absent/inactive: the first communication devicetransmits an emoji message to the second communication device, displaysa sequence of animated emojis from the emoji message in a first userinterface on a first display on the first communication device, anddisplays a notification indicating that the emoji message was deliveredsuccessfully to the second communication device; and the second devicereceives the emoji message from the first communication device, storesthe received emoji message in a memory of the second communicationdevice, and displays a notification indicating that the emoji messagehas been received in a second user interface on a second display of thesecond communication device.
 14. The communication system of claim 13,wherein the first communication device of a first user can transmit aremote input directed to the second communication device of the seconduser over a short-range wireless network via the first wirelesscommunications interface, and the second wireless communicationinterface receives the remote input when the second communication deviceis powered on/awake and within a threshold distance from the firstcommunication device.
 15. The communication system of claim 14, whereinthe short-range wireless network is a private peer-to-peer network inwhich the first communication device and the second communication devicecan communicate only with each other.
 16. The communication system ofclaim 14, wherein the first communication interface and the secondcommunication interface enable live two-way interaction between the userof the first communication device and the second user of the secondcommunication device when the second communication device is poweredon/awake and within the threshold distance from the first communicationdevice, and the second user is present/currently active.
 17. Thecommunication system of claim 14, wherein the first communication deviceand the second communication device disable communications between thesecond communication device of the second user and the firstcommunication device of the first user when the second communicationdevice is powered off/asleep or outside the threshold distance from thefirst communication device.
 18. A communication system comprising: afirst communication device having a display including a first set ofbuttons and a first wireless communications interface; and a secondcommunication device having a display including a second set of buttonsand a second wireless communications interface, wherein the firstcommunication device and the second communication device are paired inadvance to allow the first communication device and the secondcommunication device to communicate exclusively over a short-rangewireless network via the first and second wireless communicationsinterfaces, each of the first and second sets of buttons includes aplurality of function buttons associated with calling and messagingfunctions, and a plurality of emoji buttons associated with buildingemoji-based messages and playing emoji-based games, and the firstcommunication device displays one or more prompts or notifications onthe display of the first communication device when the secondcommunication device is powered on/awake and within a threshold distancefrom the first communication device, and a second user ispresent/currently active, wherein, when the first communication deviceis powered on/awake but the second communication device is poweredoff/asleep or outside a threshold distance: the first communicationdevice attempts to transmit an emoji message to the second communicationdevice, displays a sequence of emojis from the emoji message in thefirst user interface on the first display, and displays an error messageindicating that delivery of the emoji message to the secondcommunication device failed, wherein the error message includes awarning that the second communication device must be powered on/awakeand within a threshold distance from the first communication device toallow the first communication device to communicate with the seconddevice over the short-range wireless network; and the secondcommunication device cannot receive and store the emoji message whilethe second communication device is powered off/asleep or outside athreshold distance, and does not display any notification relating tothe emoji message once the second communication device is poweredon/awake.
 19. The communication system of claim 18, wherein the displayof the second communication device displays a prompt to receive a remoteinput from the first communication device when the second communicationdevice is powered on/awake and within the threshold distance from thefirst communication device, and the second user is present/currentlyactive.
 20. The communication system of claim 18, wherein, when thefirst communication device and the second communication device are bothpowered on/awake and within a threshold distance from each other, and afirst user of the first communication device and a second user of thesecond communication device are both present/currently active: the firstcommunication device transmits an emoji message to the secondcommunication device, displays a sequence of animated emojis from theemoji message in the first user interface on the first display, anddisplays a notification indicating that the emoji message was deliveredsuccessfully to the second communication device; and the secondcommunication device receives the emoji message from the firstcommunication device, and displays a prompt indicating that the seconduser can view the received emoji message in the second user interface onthe second display.